66-Year-old Guillermina Fuentes, who was indicted in 2020 for illegally collecting ballots, is now said to have run a ‘sophisticated operation’ using her status as a ‘well-known Democrat operative.’
Fuentes is a former mayor in San Luis and a board member of the Gadsden Elementary School District.
According to recent records obtained by the AP, the Arizona woman persuaded voters in the border city to allow her to collect their ballots and in some instances fill them out.
The office of the Arizona Attorney General announced that In December 2020 Fuentes was indicted on one count of Ballot Abuse, also known as “ballot harvesting” for knowingly collecting ballots from other persons, in violation of Arizona law. The early ballots were deposited into a ballot box on Election Day, and were processed and counted by the Yuma County Recorder during the election.
Three additional felony charges: Conspiracy, Forgery, and an additional Ballot Abuse count charge were added last October.
The findings of the investigation are an example of widespread voter fraud that many Republicans assert happened in the 2020 Presidential Election that they say was stolen from President Donald Trump.
A request for additional records was made last week to which The Attorney General of Arizona released more than 20 documents detailing the investigation.
Investigators say that Fuentes used her ‘position as a powerful figure’ in the a predominately Mexican American community to convince community members to turn over their ballots to her.
Fuentes, along with another woman, allegedly marked some of the mail in ballots then put them into a drop box.
Her actions were videotaped and turned into the Yuma County Sheriff sparking the investigation. Even though Fuentes is only being charged with what was caught on videotape investigators believe that her ‘illegal’ activities stretched much farther.
According to investigator William Kluth with the attorney generals office, there is evidence to suggest that Fuentes ‘actively canvassed San Luis neighborhoods and collected ballots, in some cases paying for them.’
In addition, according to the Arizona Republic, a warrant was issued for the cell phone of a San Luis councilwoman who may have also been involved in voter fraud.
Yuma Republican Rep. Tim Dunn at a legislative hearing asserted that voter fraud is a nationwide problem,
“It’s all about corruption in San Luis and skewing a city council election. This has been going on for a long time, that you can’t have free and fair elections in south county, for decades. And its spreading across the country.”
Office Of Attorney General 2021 News Release:
SAN LUIS – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that a State Grand Jury has indicted Guillermina Fuentes, of San Luis, Arizona, on additional charges related to her alleged illegal conduct in the August 2020 Primary Election. Fuentes is accused of voting for another person with an early ballot.
In December 2020, Fuentes was indicted on one count of Ballot Abuse, also known as “ballot harvesting.” That charge, which is also included in the new indictment, alleges that during the August 2020 Primary Election, Fuentes knowingly collected four voted ballots from other persons, in violation of Arizona law. The early ballots were deposited into a ballot box on Election Day, and were processed and counted by the Yuma County Recorder during the election. Arizona law only provides for a family member, household member, or caregiver of the voter to collect voted or unvoted early ballots from another person.
In addition to the Ballot Abuse charge, the new indictment alleges three additional felony charges: Conspiracy, Forgery, and an additional Ballot Abuse count. The new charges allege that Fuentes conspired to obtain and vote the early ballot of another individual in the August 2020 Primary Election. The indictment further alleges that Fuentes knowingly signed the individual’s name on an early ballot envelope, and that she allegedly violated another part of the Ballot Abuse law by marking the individual’s ballot.
This investigation was conducted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Section, Election Integrity Unit, and Special Agent Roger Geisler.
The case against the other defendant in the case, Alma Juarez, is ongoing.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson is prosecuting this case.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
