Arizona City Council Member Indicted for 2020 Ballot Harvesting Scheme: AG

Arizona elections officials count ballots in a file photo. Matt York/AP Photo

Two Arizona women, including a sitting city council member, were indicted for their alleged involvement in a 2020 ballot harvesting scheme in Yuma County, state Attorney General Mark Brnovich said on Oct. 19.

A state grand jury charged Gloria Lopez Torres and Nadia Guadalupe Lizarraga-Mayorquin, both of San Luis, with conspiracy and ballot abuse on Oct. 3, the attorney general said in a statement. Under state law, ballot harvesting is considered a class 6 felony; convictions usually carry a penalty of up to two years in prison and up to a $150,000 fine.

Torres, notably, is currently a San Luis City Council member, according to local media.

They are accused of conducting a scheme to collect “early ballots from other voters” and deposit them in a ballot box during the state’s primary election in August 2020.

Torres is accused of collecting seven ballots from Lizarraga-Mayorquin, according to grand jury indictments (pdf) (pdf) that were returned earlier this month. Lizarraga-Mayorquin collected at least one ballot from a third party who wasn’t identified.

State law only provides for a family member, household member, or caregiver to collect early ballots from another individual in Arizona, Brnovich’s office said in the statement.

The indictments allege that the unlawful activity started around July 12, 2020, and ran until Aug. 4, 2020—the primary Election Day. The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office obtained video footage of alleged ballot harvesting near a polling station in San Luis, the indictment said.

Former San Luis Mayor Guillermina Fuentes—who was serving as a local school board member—and another woman, Alma Yadira Juarez, were sentenced last week for their role in the same 2020 ballot-harvesting scheme. Fuentes, a Democrat, was ordered on Oct. 13 to turn herself into the Yuma County Jail, Brnovich said.

Both Fuentes and Juarez pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of ballot abuse.

“A group of subjects, lead by Guillermina Fuentes were seen on video manning a table and appearing to be supporting particular candidates,” the report from the Arizona Attorney General’s office said. “A female identified as Alma Juarez approached the table and made contact with a second female identified as Guillermina Fuentes. Fuentes is ultimately observed taking a ballot from Juarez.”

Since the 2020 presidential election, there have been accusations of voter fraud that swung the election away from former President Donald Trump.

Arizona has been mired in claims of voter fraud since the 2020 presidential election during which Trump narrowly lost the state to President Joe Biden. This case, however, slightly predates that contest.

Public records indicate that Torres has held a number of government positions in San Luis for more than 20 years since she was first elected to the city council in 2000, according to the Arizona Daily Independent.

The Epoch Times has contacted Torres for comment. It isn’t clear if Nadia Guadalupe Lizarraga-Mayorquin, also known as Nadia Buchanan, has an attorney.