A former Democratic Party County Chair in Texas, Juan Manuel Medina, has been indicted alongside eight others in what authorities allege was an illegal vote-harvesting scheme. Medina, who once served as Bexar County Democratic Party Chair and ran for mayor of San Antonio, faces two counts of vote harvesting. The charges are part of a broader investigation led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Prosecutors claim Medina recruited individuals, including Rachel Leal and former Dilley council member Inelda Rodriguez, to collect ballots in support of Democratic candidate Cecilia Castellano. Castellano ran unsuccessfully for the Texas House District 80 seat in 2024. Along with Medina, Castellano, Leal, Rodriguez, and five other local officials—including former mayors—were indicted.
Castellano’s attorney has denied any wrongdoing, calling the charges politically motivated and “chilling” to democratic participation. As part of the investigation, authorities previously raided Medina’s home and seized Castellano’s phone as evidence in the case.
This case is one piece of a broader crackdown on alleged voter fraud by Attorney General Paxton’s office. In May 2025, six others were indicted in the same Frio County investigation. More recently, Paxton announced a new wave of probes into 33 individuals flagged as potential noncitizens who allegedly voted in the 2024 election.
In a separate but similar case, two women in San Luis, Arizona, were charged in 2022 for ballot abuse during the 2020 election. Texas, like Arizona, treats vote harvesting as a felony offense, carrying stiff legal penalties.
