On February 6, 2023, the council considered a recent ruling from a state district judge who found that fifteen voters, including four police officers, illegally established sham residencies to cast ballots for city council candidate Daisy Campos Rodriguez, resulting in a narrow six-vote victory over her opponent, Ricardo Rangel Jr. Days earlier, Judge Susan Reed, the visiting judge assigned to the case, had voided the disputed votes and declared Rangel the true winner.
Such illegal voting practices are in decline, says Baldemar Garcia, one of Rangel’s lead attorneys, who has worked on cases challenging these practices.