Election investigations old news for Hidalgo County
EDINBURG — There have been no fewer than 13 investigations into election procedures in Hidalgo County since 2002.
The county’s elections department has prodded the Edcouch-Elsa school board, Progreso, Edinburg, Alamo, McAllen and — most recently — the La Joya school board to make sure their elections were conducted on the up-and-up.
Now, someone is poking back.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office announced earlier this month that it is looking into possible fraud and funds misappropriation within the Hidalgo County Elections Department after the county auditor’s office raised a red flag. The sheriff has not identified who specifically is under investigation.
Jesus Galvan, a 53-year-old resident from Edcouch, said he wasn’t surprised to hear of the investigation.
“It’s hard to have money in your hands, especially when it is not yours,” he said. “It’s sad, but (misuse of funds) happens.”
Eight years ago another investigation was linked to the county elections department.
Then-department head Noe Garza suddenly retired in 2000 after allegations of voting irregularities.
Current elections administrator Teresa Navarro succeeded him a few months later.
She issued a written statement earlier this month declining to comment on the latest investigation and referring all questions to the sheriff’s office.
The Hidalgo County Elections Commission is meeting this week to learn more details of the investigation.
The commission oversees election fairness but not the logistics of running the department. Its members are county Republican Party chairman Hollis Rutledge, Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, county Democratic Party chairman Juan Maldonado and County Clerk Arturo Guajardo Jr.
