(The Center Square) – Search warrants have been executed and elected officials’ phones and bank records have been seized in an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged voter fraud in Zapata County.
According to newly unsealed search warrant affidavits exclusively obtained by The Center Square, multiple elected officials and campaign staff are under investigation over allegations of vote harvesting, bribery and abuse of official capacity.
Search warrants were executed 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. None responded to multiple requests for comment from The Center Square.
For years, Democratic voters, candidates and elected officials have alleged a pattern of voter fraud in the border county of Zapata: a campaign pays staff to assist hundreds of voters, tells them who to vote for, and watches as they vote, transports and pays them to vote; and community service hours and/or fines are dropped in exchange for voting for a candidate.
In the March 2026 Democratic primary election for Zapata County judge, candidate Martha Morales alleged this pattern occurred with Rathmell’s campaign, The Center Square reported. Rathmell has denied the allegations. Of the alleged several hundred fraudulent votes cast, nearly 90 were cast by voters claiming to need assistance who were assisted by three county employees, according to Secretary of State records, The Center Square reported. They include Martha Garcia, who works for Bruni; Laura Garza, who works for Rathmell; and Norma Garcia, who works for Montes. Norma Garcia and her husband, Corando Barrera, worked on Montes’ 2024 campaign.
In Morales’ civil case, no evidence was presented and the case was dismissed due to a statutory deadline.
In the March 2024 Democratic primary election for Zapata County sheriff, former Sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque, a key Operation Lone Star member, ran for reelection and lost to Montes. Del Bosque sued, alleging the same voter fraud pattern, and lost his civil case. He requested the SOS and AG launch a criminal investigation.
The AG’s Criminal Investigations Division’s Election Integrity Unit launched an investigation in September 2025 – 18 months after the primary. Alaniz didn’t respond to requests for comment. The AG’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Center Square exclusively obtained copies of multiple unsealed affidavits for search warrants executed in July. They include four for Joe and Gina Rathmell’s homes, cell phones and bank records stating probable cause for vote harvesting; two for the same offense for Laura Garza; two stating probable cause for vote harvesting and bribery for Montes; two stating probable cause for bribery for Barrera; and two stating probable cause for bribery and abuse of official Capacity for Bruni.
The affidavits include the names of voters who came forward to describe the alleged scheme and the dates they voted. They also cite individuals who claim they provided vote harvesting services on behalf of Montes, the payments they allegedly received from his campaign, and banks records and copies of checks indicating payment.
Affidavits cite bank records indicating that Montes’ campaign staff paid voters to vote for him, influenced voters to vote for him while assisting them in the presence of their official ballot; that Garza and Rathmell’s wife allegedly paid vote harvesters and Garza and others were allegedly compensated to influence voters to vote for Montes.
Despite the Rathmells not responding to requests for comment, Gina Rathmell posted a statement on Facebook Wednesday afternoon. She said she and her husband, Judge Rathmell, have “publicly and fairly served” the community for 22 years. The affidavits “are NOT charges, they are only allegations,” Gina Rathmell wrote.
Gina Rathmell also the lawsuit filed against her husband was “ridiculous” and “We cannot discuss matters at this time.” She also said in the Facebook post, “We are fighting this fight as best as we know; through our attorneys and not on FB.”
Contrary to her claim, one affidavit states, “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 that interaction intended to be for a specific candidate.”Another affidavit includes the exact same statement referring to Judge Rathmell alleging Vote Harvesting.
Another affidavit makes the exact same statement referring to Garza alleging Vote Harvesting on behalf of Montes.
According to video surveillance and bank records described in one affidavit, Barrera allegedly withdrew cash from Montes’ campaign bank account to pay voters. Voters told investigators they were paid $20 and $25 to vote for Montes; those who transported them were paid $50, according to the affidavit. One affidavit concludes: “It appears, based on witness statements, video recorded surveillance, and bank records, that Barrera committed Bribery by providing compensation to voters in exchange for their vote for Montes.”
Once voters arrived at the courthouse to vote, Montes’ wife, Sonia Sanchez, allegedly walked them inside, guided them on how to fill out the ballot and told them to vote for Montes, according to witnesses, voters and video surveillance, one affidavit states.
Affidavits also describe how “Montes conspired with … Bruni to have citations dismissed as a favor for voters in exchange for voters to vote for him.” One cooperating witness, Veronica Alanis, who used to work for Bruni, testified that Montes’ campaign paid for “runners” to transport voters and assist them with voting to ensure they voted for Montes.
Cooperating witnesses testified that “Montes’ campaign would compensate voters and vote harvesters through services provided” by a local meat market where runners got free gas in exchange for transporting voters to vote for him. According to Alanis, “when they assisted voters, they would always tell voters how to vote … never over the whole ballot … only for the candidates that hired them,” one affidavit states.
According to text messages reviewed by investigators, Montes allegedly sent Alanis a list of people whose citations should be dismissed and assigned community service hours, images containing details regarding individual citations, and names with unique voter identification numbers, according to an affidavit. The texts indicated “evidence of Montes’ knowledge of vote harvesting. Montez would facilitate the citation dismissal as a favor for the potential voter and leverage this favor to have the voter vote for him,” one affidavit states.
One affidavit concludes: “It appears, based on victim statements, witness statements, video recorded surveillance, and bank records, that Montes committed Bribery by facilitating having Barrera … provide compensation to voters in exchange for their vote. It also appears based on the same evidence that Montes committed the offense of Vote Harvesting by compensating individuals to interact with voters in the presence of their official ballot with the interaction intended to be for a specific candidate.”
Under Bruni, an estimated 100 citations were dismissed in the year prior to the 2024 election, investigators allege, with hundreds dismissed during Alanis’ tenure. One affidavit alleges the scheme involved people who received citations with a punishment of community service and Montes and Garza allegedly signing forms stating the hours had been fulfilled under the direction of Bruni. “Citations would be deferred to community hours in the beginning of the year for voters, and the voters would be contacted by Alanis on behalf of Bruni regarding that favor,” the affidavit alleges.
Affidavits cite examples of Bruni requesting forms being sent to Garza to sign off on including those who owed thousands of dollars to the county. Another cooperating witness, Roman Guerrero, also claims Bruni asked for voters’ names when citations were removed, “instructing them to ‘help her out for her election in the future’ and that she would notify Guerrero by phone when the citations were removed.”
One affidavit concludes: “It appears based on witness statements and text message evidence between Bruni and Guerrero that Bruni committed the offense of Bribery by offering a benefit of citation dismissal to voters in exchange for their vote for Montes in 2024 and for Rathmell and herself in 2026. It also appears, by that same evidence, that Bruni committed the offense of Abuse of Official Capacity by violating a law related to her office and by misusing government property, services, and personnel in order to obtain votes.”
The AG’s criminal investigation is ongoing.
