Judge OKs continuance in ballot harvesting case
A Superior Court judge on Thursday granted a defense request for a 45-day continuance in the case of two San Luis women charged in connection to turning in ballots that were not theirs.
In providing the court with an update on the status of the case, attorney Josh Cordova said he will be filing a motion on Friday requesting supplemental information from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
He said while he has received some disclosure in the vase, more is needed.
A district attorney from the Arizona Attorney’s Office, who appeared at the hearing telephonically, told the court that his office has already received some requests for additional discovery from the defense and is working on gathering the information, but it will take time.
One of the motions, he added, was for information regarding the demographics used in the state’s grand jury selection process.
Cordova represents Guillermina Fuentes, who has been charged with one count of ballot abuse, otherwise known as “ballot harvesting.”
She and co-defendant Alma Juarez, who appeared with her during the hearing, were both indicted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office on the charge in December 2020. Juarez is being represented by attorney Sebastion Sanchez.
The indictment alleges that during the August 2020 Primary Election, Fuentes, who is a former San Luis mayor and councilwoman, and Juarez knowingly collected four voted ballots from other people, which is a violation of Arizona law.
The early ballots they collected were then deposited into a ballot box on election day, and subsequently processed and counted by the Yuma County Recorder during the election.
Under Arizona law, only a family member, household member, or caregiver of the voter can collect a voted or unvoted ballot from another person.
Ballot abuse under Arizona law is a class 6 felony and both Fuentes and Juarez are facing up to two years in prison and a fine up to as much as $150,000.
In addition to setting a deadline of March 26 to fill any motions in the case Nelson also scheduled Fuentes and Juarez’s next court appearances for April 8 at 8:30 a.m.