Texas county judge, family under investigation over voter fraud allegations

In the March 2026 Democratic primary election for Zapata County judge, candidate Martha Morales alleged this pattern occurred, The Center Square reported. She sued and lost her civil case due to a statutory deadline and asked the Secretary of State and attorney general to investigate. 

In the March 2024 Democratic primary election for Zapata County sheriff, former Sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque made similar allegations after losing his primary. He sued, lost his civil case and requested the SOS and AG to investigate. 

Last September, the AG’s Criminal Investigations Division Election Integrity Unit launched an investigation into the Zapata County judge, sheriff, one Justice of the Peace and others. 

In July, the AG’s CID EIU executed search warrants at the residences of Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell, and his wife, Gina Rathmell; of Sheriff Ramon Montes, and his wife, Sonia Sanchez; of the sheriff’s secretary, Norma Garcia, and her husband, Corando Barrera; of Laura Garza who worked on Montes’ and Rathmell’s campaigns; and of Justice of the Peace Olga Bruni. Phone and bank records were seized as part of the investigation, according to 73 pages of affidavits exclusively obtained by The Center Square. 

None responded to multiple requests for comment from The Center Square.

In the March 2026 Democratic primary race for county clerk, candidate Carmen Mena-Paredes lost and also alleges voter fraud occurred. She didn’t have the financial resources to contest the outcome, she told The Center Square. The outgoing county clerk maintains no voter fraud occurred, The Center Square reported.  

“Given the affidavit allegations involving vote harvesting and bribery surrounding the most recent election,” Mena-Paredes is calling on the AG to investigate all races in the most recent elections in the county. 

“If there are legitimate concerns about the integrity of our elections, every race deserves the same level of scrutiny. This isn’t about targeting one candidate, one party, or one office, it’s about transparency, accountability, and making sure every vote was legally and fairly cast. The people of our county deserve to know that their elections are conducted with integrity and that their voices truly matter,” she told The Center Square. 

Judge Rathmell has not responded to multiple requests for comment about allegations made in four affidavits about him, his wife, adult daughter and campaign staff. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Gina Rathmell, the judge's wife, posted a statement on Facebook stating she and Judge Rathmell “have publicly and fairly served for over 22 years.” She also said the affidavits are “NOT charges, these are only allegations.”  

“We cannot discuss matters at this time,” she added, stating in the Facebook post, “We are fighting this fight as best we know; through our attorneys and not on FB.” 

Two separate affidavits conclude: “It appears, based on witness statements, video recorded surveillance, bank records, and text message evidence that Gina Rathmell committed the offense of Vote Harvesting by compensating individuals to interact with voters in the presence of their official ballot with the with that interaction intended to be for a specific candidate.”

Two other affidavits state, “It appears, based on witness statements, video recorded surveillance, bank records, and text message evidence that [Judge] Rathmell committed the offense of Vote Harvesting by compensating individuals to interact with voters in the presence of their official ballot with that interaction intended to be for a specific candidate.”

Investigators interviewed several cooperating witnesses, including a former Rathmell campaign worker, Roman Guerrero, who signed an affidavit in Morales’ case that he was paid to bring and assist voters to vote for Rathmell, The Center Square first reported. Guerrero also told AG EIU investigators he was paid to “bring people to vote and assist voters to vote” for Rathmell, according to an affidavit 

“According to text messages between Guerrero and Garza, Rathmell's network of harvesters and vote harvester facilitators communicated on their cell phone devices including communications about being paid to collect votes for Rathmell. There would have to have been coordination between Rathmell, Gina Rathmell, and Garza regarding this check and what it was for,” one affidavit states.

Text message exchanges indicate that Rathmell’s campaign employee Norma Garza instructed Guerrero to “work for Rathmell to obtain votes for him while interacting with voters in the presence of their official ballots, and in return, Guerrero would be provided with compensation,” one affidavit states. Garza allegedly used her phone with Guerrero “to coordinate payment for vote harvesting activity,” it states.

According to phone records obtained by investigators, there were 174 phone contacts between Garza and Judge Rathmell between June 2024 and June 2026. There were also 1,035 phone contacts between Garza and Gina Rathmell between June 2024 and June 2026, investigators allege. The affidavits also quote text messages exchanged between their adult daughter and campaign staff related to alleged vote harvesting.

“These text messages are an indicator that [Judge] Rathmell utilized his family to coordinate vote harvesting services which involved having vote harvesters interact with voters in the presence of their official ballots with the intention of having the voters vote for Rathmell for elections by texting these vote harvesters directly on behalf of Rathmell. This also shows that Gina Rathmell, Rathmell's wife, had knowledge of the coordination for vote harvesting services,” one affidavit states. 

The affidavit also notes that “it is common for candidates and/or elected officials to compensate vote harvesters and/or communicate with vote harvesters through third parties … to provide themselves with a deniability on what those funds and or communications are intended for.”

Corando Barrera, who worked on Rathmell’s campaign, didn’t respond to requests for comment but posted a statement on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon. “Accusations are easy to make but proving them is an entirely different story,” he said, referring to two AG EIU affidavits resulting in his home being searched and his phone being seized.

“Norma and I know exactly what we did and did not do, and we are extremely confident about where the truth and the evidence will ultimately lead. We have remained quiet for a reason, and that silence should never be mistaken for fear, weakness, or an inability to defend ourselves. There are things we simply cannot discuss publicly,” he said, referring to his wife, Norma Garcia, who works for Montes. Montes also is being investigated.  

The affidavits related to Barrera cite examples of alleged vote harvesting and bribery in the 2024 Democratic primary race for sheriff. It cites video surveillance, bank records and eye-witness accounts of Barerra allegedly withdrawing cash from Montes’ campaign bank account of which Garcia is an account co-owner, according to the affidavit. It also alleges Barrera paid voters cash after they voted for Montes, using a drop off point by a porta potty located near the county courthouse, among other allegations.

Montes, Garcia and the AG’s office did not respond to requests for comment.