gamewatcher63 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Gregg County commissioner, 3 others arrested in 'vote-harvesting scheme' Quote After an investigation lasting more than two years, Gregg County Pct. 4 Commissioner Shannon Brown and three other people were arrested Thursday in connection with what the Texas Attorney General’s Office said was an organized vote-harvesting scheme during the 2018 Democratic primary election. Brown, 49, along with Charlie Burns, 84 of Longview; DeWayne Ward, 58, of Longview; and Marlena Jackson, 50, of Marshall, were booked into the Gregg County Jail on charges of engaging in organized election fraud, illegal voting, fraudulent use of mail ballot application, unlawful possession of ballot/ballot envelope, election fraud and tampering with a governmental record with intent to harm or defraud. They all were released Thursday on $25,000 personal recognizance bonds. Penalties for the offenses, if convicted, range from six months in state jail to 99 years in prison, according to the AG’s office. “It is an unfortunate reality that elections can be stolen outright by mail ballot fraud,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Election fraud, particularly an organized mail ballot fraud scheme orchestrated by political operatives, is an affront to democracy and results in voter disenfranchisement and corruption at the highest level.” Jackson was charged with 97 felonies, Brown with 23 felonies, Burns with eight felonies and Ward with six felonies. “To increase the pool of ballots needed to swing the race in Brown’s favor, the group targeted young, able-bodied voters to cast ballots by mail by fraudulently claiming the voters were ‘disabled,’ in most cases without the voters’ knowledge or consent,” the AG’s office said in a statement. The probe was announced in May 2018 after the March primary race for commissioner between Brown and former Longview Councilwoman Kasha Williams drew 787 mail-in ballots. Those mail-in votes swung an election day lead by Williams into a five-vote Brown victory. About one third of the voters using those mail-in, or absentee, ballots made a disability claim to qualify for them. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt said Thursday that he is deferring comment on the arrests to the attorney general’s office and to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office. According to the indictment, Jackson, Brown and Burns marked voter applications for ballot by mail as “disabled” when the voter was not. Under state law, mail-in ballots for disability are reserved for residents who are “physically ill” and are unable to vote in-person due to illness. Jackson is accused of signing off several times that she assisted a voter complete an application when someone else assisted. The indictment lists three instances where Jackson signed, claiming to assist a voter when it was Brown who assisted though he was a candidate. The indictment lists 30 election fraud counts alleging Jackson marked mail ballot applications as disabled for residents who were not eligible to vote by mail. Jackson, Brown and Burns also are accused of tampering with a governmental record “with intent to harm or defraud the Gregg County election authority and candidate Kasha Williams.” After the results of the 2018 race between Brown and Williams was decided, Gregg County Elections Administrator Kathryn Nealy said she questions practices that for years have led to disproportionate numbers of mail-in ballots in the South Longview voting precinct. “The alleged account of voter fraud appears so clearly to be a problem in our districts, but we are encouraged by the attention it has brought to the issue, both here and statewide, and by the opportunity to fix this problem,” former Mayor and state Rep. Jay Dean, R-Longview, said in a statement. State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who worked on a Senate committee to combat voter fraud, said he was encouraged by the efforts of the attorney general, the district attorney and Gregg County Sheriff’s Office. “Of course there is the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise,” Hughes said. “The justice system will run its course.” He added that hundreds of witnesses were interviewed in the investigation. "They really did their homework,” Hughes said. “This has been on the radar for a while now.” This case in Gregg County and another in the state have been watched closely, he said. “Of all the forms of voting, mail-in ballots are the most vulnerable to cheating,” Hughes said. “We are supposed to learn.” Hughes said mail-in ballots are important for voters, such as those older than 65. “Voting is great, cheating is not,” he said. “We have to secure Texas elections.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Gregg County commissioner, 3 others arrested in 'vote-harvesting scheme' Quote After an investigation lasting more than two years, Gregg County Pct. 4 Commissioner Shannon Brown and three other people were arrested Thursday in connection with what the Texas Attorney General’s Office said was an organized vote-harvesting scheme during the 2018 Democratic primary election. Brown, 49, along with Charlie Burns, 84 of Longview; DeWayne Ward, 58, of Longview; and Marlena Jackson, 50, of Marshall, were booked into the Gregg County Jail on charges of engaging in organized election fraud, illegal voting, fraudulent use of mail ballot application, unlawful possession of ballot/ballot envelope, election fraud and tampering with a governmental record with intent to harm or defraud. They all were released Thursday on $25,000 personal recognizance bonds. Penalties for the offenses, if convicted, range from six months in state jail to 99 years in prison, according to the AG’s office. “It is an unfortunate reality that elections can be stolen outright by mail ballot fraud,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Election fraud, particularly an organized mail ballot fraud scheme orchestrated by political operatives, is an affront to democracy and results in voter disenfranchisement and corruption at the highest level.” Jackson was charged with 97 felonies, Brown with 23 felonies, Burns with eight felonies and Ward with six felonies. “To increase the pool of ballots needed to swing the race in Brown’s favor, the group targeted young, able-bodied voters to cast ballots by mail by fraudulently claiming the voters were ‘disabled,’ in most cases without the voters’ knowledge or consent,” the AG’s office said in a statement. The probe was announced in May 2018 after the March primary race for commissioner between Brown and former Longview Councilwoman Kasha Williams drew 787 mail-in ballots. Those mail-in votes swung an election day lead by Williams into a five-vote Brown victory. About one third of the voters using those mail-in, or absentee, ballots made a disability claim to qualify for them. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt said Thursday that he is deferring comment on the arrests to the attorney general’s office and to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office. According to the indictment, Jackson, Brown and Burns marked voter applications for ballot by mail as “disabled” when the voter was not. Under state law, mail-in ballots for disability are reserved for residents who are “physically ill” and are unable to vote in-person due to illness. Jackson is accused of signing off several times that she assisted a voter complete an application when someone else assisted. The indictment lists three instances where Jackson signed, claiming to assist a voter when it was Brown who assisted though he was a candidate. The indictment lists 30 election fraud counts alleging Jackson marked mail ballot applications as disabled for residents who were not eligible to vote by mail. Jackson, Brown and Burns also are accused of tampering with a governmental record “with intent to harm or defraud the Gregg County election authority and candidate Kasha Williams.” After the results of the 2018 race between Brown and Williams was decided, Gregg County Elections Administrator Kathryn Nealy said she questions practices that for years have led to disproportionate numbers of mail-in ballots in the South Longview voting precinct. “The alleged account of voter fraud appears so clearly to be a problem in our districts, but we are encouraged by the attention it has brought to the issue, both here and statewide, and by the opportunity to fix this problem,” former Mayor and state Rep. Jay Dean, R-Longview, said in a statement. State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who worked on a Senate committee to combat voter fraud, said he was encouraged by the efforts of the attorney general, the district attorney and Gregg County Sheriff’s Office. “Of course there is the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise,” Hughes said. “The justice system will run its course.” He added that hundreds of witnesses were interviewed in the investigation. "They really did their homework,” Hughes said. “This has been on the radar for a while now.” This case in Gregg County and another in the state have been watched closely, he said. “Of all the forms of voting, mail-in ballots are the most vulnerable to cheating,” Hughes said. “We are supposed to learn.” Hughes said mail-in ballots are important for voters, such as those older than 65. “Voting is great, cheating is not,” he said. “We have to secure Texas elections.” THUGS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 9 minutes ago, CarthDawg77 said: THUGS Why did you call them 'THUGS'? How is that appropriate to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 5 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Why did you call them 'THUGS'? How is that appropriate to this? Thug behavior... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 4 minutes ago, CarthDawg77 said: Thug behavior... Define that, please. Think I know exactly why you are saying that, and sadly, you do, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepeSilvia Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 5 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Define that, please. Think I know exactly why you are saying that, and sadly, you do, too. I'm sure if they looked a little different and voted a different way then he would say that they were misunderstood individuals who were just trying to even the playing field because of those cheating Dems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Anyone who's had anything to do with politics in East Texas has known about this for years. It's practically a tradition. Check the results of numerous past federal/state/local elections in that precinct. It's incredibly obvious what's going on. Gregg County commissioner, 3 others arrested in 'vote-harvesting scheme' Quote After an investigation lasting more than two years, Gregg County Pct. 4 Commissioner Shannon Brown and three other people were arrested Thursday in connection with what the Texas Attorney General’s Office said was an organized vote-harvesting scheme during the 2018 Democratic primary election. Brown, 49, along with Charlie Burns, 84 of Longview; DeWayne Ward, 58, of Longview; and Marlena Jackson, 50, of Marshall, were booked into the Gregg County Jail on charges of engaging in organized election fraud, illegal voting, fraudulent use of mail ballot application, unlawful possession of ballot/ballot envelope, election fraud and tampering with a governmental record with intent to harm or defraud. They all were released Thursday on $25,000 personal recognizance bonds. Penalties for the offenses, if convicted, range from six months in state jail to 99 years in prison, according to the AG’s office. “It is an unfortunate reality that elections can be stolen outright by mail ballot fraud,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Election fraud, particularly an organized mail ballot fraud scheme orchestrated by political operatives, is an affront to democracy and results in voter disenfranchisement and corruption at the highest level.” Jackson was charged with 97 felonies, Brown with 23 felonies, Burns with eight felonies and Ward with six felonies. “To increase the pool of ballots needed to swing the race in Brown’s favor, the group targeted young, able-bodied voters to cast ballots by mail by fraudulently claiming the voters were ‘disabled,’ in most cases without the voters’ knowledge or consent,” the AG’s office said in a statement. The probe was announced in May 2018 after the March primary race for commissioner between Brown and former Longview Councilwoman Kasha Williams drew 787 mail-in ballots. Those mail-in votes swung an election day lead by Williams into a five-vote Brown victory. About one third of the voters using those mail-in, or absentee, ballots made a disability claim to qualify for them. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt said Thursday that he is deferring comment on the arrests to the attorney general’s office and to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office. According to the indictment, Jackson, Brown and Burns marked voter applications for ballot by mail as “disabled” when the voter was not. Under state law, mail-in ballots for disability are reserved for residents who are “physically ill” and are unable to vote in-person due to illness. Jackson is accused of signing off several times that she assisted a voter complete an application when someone else assisted. The indictment lists three instances where Jackson signed, claiming to assist a voter when it was Brown who assisted though he was a candidate. The indictment lists 30 election fraud counts alleging Jackson marked mail ballot applications as disabled for residents who were not eligible to vote by mail. Jackson, Brown and Burns also are accused of tampering with a governmental record “with intent to harm or defraud the Gregg County election authority and candidate Kasha Williams.” After the results of the 2018 race between Brown and Williams was decided, Gregg County Elections Administrator Kathryn Nealy said she questions practices that for years have led to disproportionate numbers of mail-in ballots in the South Longview voting precinct. “The alleged account of voter fraud appears so clearly to be a problem in our districts, but we are encouraged by the attention it has brought to the issue, both here and statewide, and by the opportunity to fix this problem,” former Mayor and state Rep. Jay Dean, R-Longview, said in a statement. State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who worked on a Senate committee to combat voter fraud, said he was encouraged by the efforts of the attorney general, the district attorney and Gregg County Sheriff’s Office. “Of course there is the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise,” Hughes said. “The justice system will run its course.” He added that hundreds of witnesses were interviewed in the investigation. "They really did their homework,” Hughes said. “This has been on the radar for a while now.” This case in Gregg County and another in the state have been watched closely, he said. “Of all the forms of voting, mail-in ballots are the most vulnerable to cheating,” Hughes said. “We are supposed to learn.” Hughes said mail-in ballots are important for voters, such as those older than 65. “Voting is great, cheating is not,” he said. “We have to secure Texas elections.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTman7 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 27 minutes ago, CarthDawg77 said: THUGS 11 minutes ago, CarthDawg77 said: Thug behavior... I actually know one of the guys arrested. Not the commissioner. He's actually a very nice Christian gentleman. But, he's VERY political. I've had multiple conversations with him sitting on his front porch over the last few years. Some of those were political discussions and were definitely FUN, lol. I don't know about the commissioner, other guy, and female. I can vouch for the character of the one I know (besides this incident of course, lol). He's not a thug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 2 minutes ago, BoHogg said: Because the other word would get him time out. “Thugs” come in all races & colors, but thanks for thinking you know what I meant... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 49 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Define that, please. Think I know exactly why you are saying that, and sadly, you do, too. Criminal, illegal, inappropriate behavior... You know, Democrat behavior.. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarthDawg77 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Just now, BoHogg said: Thinking? I know what you meant Johnny Reb. Sure you did... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyZuco Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 hour ago, BarryLaverty said: Define that, please. Think I know exactly why you are saying that, and sadly, you do, too. 1 hour ago, PepeSilvia said: I'm sure if they looked a little different and voted a different way then he would say that they were misunderstood individuals who were just trying to even the playing field because of those cheating Dems. 25 minutes ago, BoHogg said: An indicted Texas GOP AG getting these indictments. Only in Texas. Let's look at the Leftist remarks. One, decides to attack another poster for a word they used about people being arrested. Another claims to know what the look like and if they looked different there would be "another reason", and the third--well, he seems to think that an AG shouldn't be handing out indictments because he was indicted also. Yet, none of them has said that VOTER fraud should NOT happen. They blame it racism, symbolic wording, and "oh my gosh, he shouldn't be doing that because the same thing happened to him". First of all, if the AG is convicted of a crime in a court of law--they should give him the maximum sentence. If these people in Gregg County are found guilty of a crime, then they should receive the maximum sentence. And it doesn't matter which side of the aisle you are on, if people are committing voter fraud, it takes away from any of us that are trying to do the CORRECT things in life. Seems like we either have a bunch of --dang we got caught again, but who cares, the media won't report it. or we just have some sad saps. but as usual--SSDD!!!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepeSilvia Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 18 minutes ago, DannyZuco said: Let's look at the Leftist remarks. One, decides to attack another poster for a word they used about people being arrested. Another claims to know what the look like and if they looked different there would be "another reason", and the third--well, he seems to think that an AG shouldn't be handing out indictments because he was indicted also. Yet, none of them has said that VOTER fraud should NOT happen. They blame it racism, symbolic wording, and "oh my gosh, he shouldn't be doing that because the same thing happened to him". First of all, if the AG is convicted of a crime in a court of law--they should give him the maximum sentence. If these people in Gregg County are found guilty of a crime, then they should receive the maximum sentence. And it doesn't matter which side of the aisle you are on, if people are committing voter fraud, it takes away from any of us that are trying to do the CORRECT things in life. Seems like we either have a bunch of --dang we got caught again, but who cares, the media won't report it. or we just have some sad saps. but as usual--SSDD!!!!! Somebody has their panties in a wad this morning lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyZuco Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 minute ago, PepeSilvia said: Somebody has their panties in a wad this morning lol. Yes coming from MR. INSINUATING EVERYONE IS A RACIST, Still NOT one of you has responded to the thread except to cry about what others say--Either you want voter fraud because it might help your side win, or you would be like the Ostrich and put your head in the sand. Still, makes you a SAD SAP, spreading the SSDD!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepeSilvia Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 minute ago, DannyZuco said: Yes coming from MR. INSINUATING EVERYONE IS A RACIST, Still NOT one of you has responded to the thread except to cry about what others say--Either you want voter fraud because it might help your side win, or you would be like the Ostrich and put your head in the sand. Still, makes you a SAD SAP, spreading the SSDD!!!!! Lol Stop being so racist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyZuco Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 3 minutes ago, PepeSilvia said: Lol Stop being so racist. I may be a bigot, I can admit that. But at least I don't have Allodoxaphobia!!!!!!LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepeSilvia Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 17 minutes ago, DannyZuco said: I may be a bigot, I can admit that. But at least I don't have Allodoxaphobia!!!!!!LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyzNdaHood Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 2 hours ago, BarryLaverty said: Define that, please. Think I know exactly why you are saying that, and sadly, you do, too. Yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyzNdaHood Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 hour ago, BoHogg said: Because the other word would get him time out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Ok, can anyone define thugs, cause I don’t get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAWG91 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Not one single condemnation of those arrested by the board's resident liberals and self-described "independent" on here. No, instead we get the race card, as usual. Very telling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyzNdaHood Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 26 minutes ago, DAWG91 said: Not one single condemnation of those arrested by the board's resident liberals and self-described "independent" on here. No, instead we get the race card, as usual. Very telling. Innocent til proven guilty, ain't that how this works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 minute ago, JETT said: Innocent til proven guilty, ain't that how this works? Systematically, yes. And even then, there are occasionally wrongful convictions. But people still think OJ is guilty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyzNdaHood Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 2 minutes ago, Monte1076 said: Systematically, yes. but people still think OJ is guilty. Hell I think he was 2, but it dont matter anyway he didn't stay free long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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