[ April 24, 2024 ]
Perfect. Right?
Related: Sylvia Handy found guilty on all eight counts (including theft and engaging in organized criminal activity).
Felon’s designation to Hidalgo County ballot board draws concern
By: Valerie Gonzalez, Valley Star, October 17, 2020
Story continues below advertisementThe Hidalgo County Democratic Party appointment of a convicted felon to serve on a committee handling mail-in ballots, though legal, has drawn concerns from members of both parties in the ongoing, contentious election.
“I feel it’s an insult to the members of Hidalgo County,” Adrienne Peña-Garza, who sits as the chair of the opposing Republican party, said.
Sylvia Handy is serving on the Hidalgo County Signature Verification Board, a committee tasked with verifying and processing mail-in ballots. This year, the county sent out over 18,300 ballots by mail.
From 1997 until 2009, Handy served as an Hidalgo County commissioner until she was convicted on federal charges.
Handy entered into a plea deal March 8, 2010, affirming she was guilty of employing and claiming a tax credit for a housekeeper who did not have legal status to reside in the U.S. and hiring a different woman to work for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 under an unlawfully assumed citizenship identity for six years.
While serving 30 months in a federal prison, Handy was indicted by a Hidalgo County grand jury on eight charges of theft of property in 2011. The charges stemmed from the hiring and rehiring of staff that were not believed to have performed work for the county.
Handy was appointed by the Democratic party and approved by the County Election Board on Aug. 7, according to Hilda Salinas, Hidalgo County elections analyst. The board is composed of the sheriff, county clerk, Democratic and Republican party chairs, and the county judge.
“It puts us in a difficult situation because those are the rules,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said referring to state law that allows Handy’s appointment.
“In order to serve on the committee, a person must be a qualified voter of the entity,” states the Early Voting Ballot Board & Signature Verification Committee handbook for 2020.
Under the state’s election code, a “qualified voter” is someone who, if convicted, has “fully discharged the person’s sentence, including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or completed a period of probation ordered by any court.”
Though Handy meets legal requirements to serve, the optics of selecting someone convicted for abusing a position of trust is a concern for Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa.
“Certainly, [that’s] something that should be considered by the chair when making the determination both because of the perception and because of the concerns other people might have regarding a person with that prior conviction,” Hinojosa said.
Three calls, an email and a text message were sent to request comment from the chair of the Hidalgo County Democratic party, Norma Ramirez. Additional calls were placed to the headquarters, as well as a late visit. Both yielded no results.
Ramirez responded to a call, said she would return the call but did not.
At 8:13 p.m. Patrick Eronini, political director of the Hidalgo County Democratic party, placed a call to the reporter working on the story but refused to identify himself.
“I don’t think you should be part of (the) bullying, and the lynching, and the assassination of people’s characters. So, when individuals and committee members volunteer to serve on these very important boards, they are worthy of praise,” Eronini said.
See video for the rest of the conversation.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Members serving on the board are paid by the county, according to Salinas. Yvonne Ramon, the election administrator, said she requested 20 people from each party. On Sept. 3, 39 were announced as confirmed.
Some insight into the selection process by the Hidalgo County Democratic party was shared by another member on the board, Mary Alice Palacios.
“The Democratic party sends out a memo or an email asking people if they want to be on the ballot committee. You send your name in. Once you send your name to them, they send this list to the commissioners court. They approve the list, and then that’s how we’re selected,” she said.
Palacios was convicted and sentenced for official oppression in 2011 when she served as Precinct 4, Place 1 Justice of the Peace in Hidalgo County. She was acquitted on appeal.
This is the first year Palacios serves on the board to verify signatures on mail-in ballot applications and returned ballots and later to process the mail-in ballots for counting on Election Day. The process has safeguards in place.
“They pair you up. So, you’re never working with the same party. You’re always with a Republican or with a Democrat,” Palacios said.
The head of the Democratic party in Texas said the bipartisan pairing helps ensure integrity in the process and avoid vote tampering.
“There’s no way that she (Handy) can be in any position of doing anything like that, regardless of what her intentions would be,” Hinojosa said.
Handy said she wants any fears of her appointment “to be put to rest.”
Her voting rights were restored, and she became a registered voter as of June 8, 2019, according to state records. Her mail-in ballot was already received by the county Oct. 15, and she said that as part of her conviction, she’s paid nearly $200,000 in restitution.
Handy, who continues to claim innocence, said her involvement with the board was a result of a search by the party which resulted in insufficient volunteers.
“I guess there’s a lot of people right now who can’t work full-time or they don’t have the time, or they just don’t do it. They were short,” Handy said after mentioning she’s retired and inclined to participate in the democratic process.
PLANNED ACTIONS
Keeping qualified voters with prior convictions from participating would require a change in the law. Otherwise, a challenge or denial from the county election board could be read as censorship, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said.
“If we don’t want prior people who had a conviction or whatever, then put it in the law,” Cortez said.
Peña-Garza said they are writing a letter to the Texas Secretary of State’s office, but they also urge vigilance among voters.
“Out of every single person in Hidalgo County, I think that we do need to pay a little bit more attention to who is being selected,” Peña-Garza said.
The Truth Must be Told
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20 Comments
3 years ago
Criminals always hire criminals.
3 years ago
Reply to
CharlieSeattle
…and, of cause, she has the advantage to be already a accomplished cheat and crook and does not need to be trained.
3 years ago
3 years ago
This means that vote totals could exceed the total USA population
New Data Analysis Finds 353 Counties With 1.8 Million More Registered Voters Than Residents
https://www.theepochtimes.com/new-data-analysis-finds-353-counties-with-1-8-million-more-registered-voters-than-residents_3543242.html
A total of 353 of the 3,141 counties in America located in 29 of the nation’s 50 states have 1.8 million more registered voters than residents, according to an analysis by Judicial Watch. The non-profit government watchdog compared the registration data available for 37 states with the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recently available American Community Survey (ACS) numbers for the period 2014-2018 on a county-by-county basis. “This new study shows 1.8 million excess, or ‘ghost’ voters, in 353 counties across 29 states,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement announcing the study Friday.
3 years ago
Reply to
DemocracyRules
“This means that vote totals could exceed the total USA population”
Disturbing numbers. How does that happen? I had always thought that only citizens could vote, until recent years brought the information on migration and lax borders. The polls during my life have always been in tiny areas, and the poll monitors knew everyone. In Alabama you can add ID required.
What is your confidence level in Judicial Watch? My spidey senses are up today, though I have trusted them in the past. Just last week we got a survey from them on this topic that read like a leftist propaganda sheet; 3 pages, both sides, lots of distracting breaks and bold copy. The questions were written in a manner that did not really suss out balanced information as much as condemn a certain side. We threw ours out.
We also have concerns about The Rutherford Institute whose contribution sheets became the same way a few years ago; we backed away. They are very concerned about police state issues and I think they might be a leftist organization. Whitehead seems real and sincere, but the rhetoric there matches the radical left as seen now.
The Epoch Times we are evaluating, having received a sample; articles good so far. We are thinking of giving them a trial print run at our house; it is slightly creepy only due to a complete absence of God; I haven’t yet found a single reference or column even referencing Him. I should note that in our house all media that omits God stands out like a sore thumb. I am not sure I can support an outlet that ignores God.
Anyway, you made a good post. Just raises a lot of flags in my arena. Discernment is getting harder.
3 years ago
Reply to
[email protected]
Good morning! Judicial Watch is well regarded. The old voter rolls include people who moved away, or are deceased, or double counted for people who changed their names, from marriage or otherwise. Of course all that is legal, but current voter rolls need to be accurate.
The Epoch Times is run by the Falun Gong, a newish Chinese religion. They are heavily persecuted by the communists there. They are somewhat Judeo-Christian, but they are neither Jews nor Christians. They are strongly moral, they like honesty, and they like truth. They are conservative leaning, and their news stories are very accurate. They don’t mention religion, but they do include stories with uplifting messages. They value Christians and Jews for our tolerance for other religions.
3 years ago
Par for the course.
3 years ago
DEMS are dying to make Texas BLUE.
3 years ago
Historian: New evidence shows FDR’s bigotry derailed many Holocaust rescue plans
3 years ago
Just remember that the Rio Grande Valley area of Texas, being rife with corruption, enjoys the reputation of being home to LBJ’s “Ballot Box 13” scandal that propelled him to the Senate.
3 years ago
All true Christians do not listen to evangelical leaders who are stopping you make that vote for your conservative Christian values which are not to do with democrats ones who are against you and are supporting the very criminals employing criminals even using evangelical leaders, some not all that are being paid to get you to vote g g or their reasons instead of what really matters ! Think for yourselves about policies not whether you like trump or not as your children have been manipulated to think anti America anti Christian values for decades . The lack of Christian votes let illahan Omar into the senate not the Somali community, the globalists are paying into your churches beware and check out who your preacher follows but use your own brains and prayer to outvote the cheaters who are doing everything in their power to steal the vote ! Why do the democrats have to resort to do evil and back anarchists? Why do they need to employ criminals to vote harvest ? Looks at what real fascists did before and see these so called anti fascists are actually the same evil and are beating anyone up who don’t agree with free speech, Trump, the Christian values . Your youngsters have been brainwashed for the FASCISTS BLM run by Nation of Islam and we Christians are seen as the enemy because we stand for Israel ! Remember how God will curse those that curse Israel and this is the democrats who will reverse everything Trump has set in motion for peace , do not withhold your vote by globalist infiltrators in the church , use your own brains with prayer as no one is without sin but you do have a choice to win back your country, your Christian values , to usurp the fascists and islamists attacking your country from within by turning you against each other and they are laughing at how easy it’s been and with the democrats they will succeed! Do not let this happen as democracy is at stake here . Do you think the way the democrats are doing things using antifa using BLM using your kids , using criminals to harvest your elderly peoples votes is democratic??? Vote vote vote ft or your country because heaven help you if the democrats win 1/ jo Biden will be taken over deemed not fit then who steps into the void ? The most sinful anti Christian anti Semitic anti America people who will have succeeded in destroying America with worse to come until the time Christians becomes the hunted , along with Jews and any minority not muslim. America has freedom of religion but will lose it as George Soros is the devil’s advocate and his son , don’t listen to your kids as my eldest got brainwashed into believing he does good things for people because in the Uk they brainwashed our kids too and look what’s happening now, look at what’s happening in France with churches being burnt but worst of all teachers being decapitated in the street ????? MAGA
3 years ago
Reply to
Michelle
“Think for yourselves about policies…” Aye, lass.
Epic rant, Michelle; I think we agree on many things.
Stay on task and be of good cheer. All is well. God’s got this.
3 years ago
Reply to
[email protected]
Prayerfully so as God rules not these terrible people and all we can do is pray amen
