Texas attorney general: Mexican citizen stole woman’s identity to vote

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced Monday that he will prosecute a Mexican citizen living in Houston who allegedly stole another woman’s identity to vote illegally.

The Dallas Morning News reported that Laura Janeth Garza, 38, was indicted on two counts of illegal voting last week.

Paxton’s office alleges Garza illegally registered to vote in Harris County after stealing a U.S. citizen’s identity under the alias Angie Yadira Zamora.

The victim learned her identity had been stolen when she tried to apply for a passport and learned that one was already issued under her name, the Morning News reported.

Garza voted in the November 2016 election, as well as voting in 2004 and 2012, the attorney general’s office claims.

A Texas woman was sentenced in March to five years in prison for also voting illegally in the 2016 elections.

Crystal Mason, 42, was convicted of casting a provisional ballot in 2016 while she was on supervised release for a 2011 tax fraud conviction, the Morning News reported.

Garza is charged with indelible voting and voter impersonation. She is being held at the Montgomery County jail with a $150,000 bail.

If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.