PHOENIX (AP) — A southwestern Arizona lady who pleaded responsible to illegally accumulating 4 early voting ballots within the 2020 main election was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years probation on Thursday, with the choose rejecting her plea for simply probation and saying he didn’t suppose she accepts duty for her legal act.

The sentence for Guillermina Fuentes, a 66-year-old college board member and former mayor of the small border metropolis of San Luis, caps a prolonged case that caught the attention of investigators on the day of the August 2020 main and finally led to expenses towards Fuentes and one other San Luis lady. Republicans who query former President Donald Trump’s loss in Arizona and different battleground states seized on the case as proof of widespread voter fraud, though it got here within the main and is the only case of “poll harvesting” ever prosecuted within the state.

Yuma County Superior Courtroom Decide Roger Nelson instructed Fuentes that regardless of a parade of character witnesses and a probation officer who wrote a pre-sentence report saying in court docket final week that she was remorseful, Nelson stated he didn’t consider it, after which quoted from the report. ″’The defendant acknowledged duty for carrying ballots for another person nonetheless, she said, ‘I’m not a legal,” Nelson learn.

“Properly, you’re a legal,” Nelson instructed her. “You dedicated a legal offense. I don’t suppose you acknowledge that as a legal offense. That’s the issue that I’ve.” Prosecutors from the Arizona legal professional common’s workplace had sought a 12 months in jail for violating a 2016 “poll harvesting” legislation that makes it unlawful to own another person’s mail ballots except they’re a member of the family, housemate or caregiver to the voter.

Fuentes’ attorneys had urged Nelson to provide her probation and known as a parade of character witnesses at a listening to final week who offered glowing stories of her service within the small border metropolis of San Luis, rising a enterprise and turning into a frontrunner, and her regret for breaking the legislation. Nelson praised her for that, but in addition stated it weighed closely in his resolution to ship her to jail. “Lots of the issues that have been put ahead as mitigating elements, I feel they’re additionally aggravating elements,” he stated. “You’ve got been a frontrunner within the San Luis neighborhood for a very long time. Individuals look as much as you, folks respect you, and so they look to what you do.”

Fuentes collected the 4 early voting ballots from acquaintances in San Luis, and gave them to co-defendant Alma Juarez whereas working a desk exterior a polling place the place she was urging folks to vote for a slate of metropolis council candidates. Juarez carried them inside and put them in a poll drop-off bin.

Juarez pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor in a plea settlement with prosecutors that known as for her to get probation. Nelson was not sure by that settlement, however gave her probation and no jail time. A metropolis council write-in candidate videotaped the change exterior the polls, and known as the sheriff’s workplace. The legal professional common’s “election integrity” unit rapidly took over the investigation.

Prosecutors alleged in court docket papers that Fuentes ran a classy operation utilizing her standing in Democratic politics in San Luis to steer voters to let her collect and, in some instances, fill out their ballots. However they dropped extra critical expenses of conspiracy and forgery and each pleaded responsible to a single rely of poll abuse.

Nelson famous the small-town politics within the case and years of rumors that folks like Fuentes collected ballots from voters and delivered them to the polls. “It’s been a problem for a very long time, or at the very least it’s been alleged that it’s a problem, that folks vote for others, take their ballots,” Nelson stated. “All people that’s concerned in politics on this space knew {that a} new legislation was handed. You definitely knew it, that that legislation was new, even went as much as the Supreme Courtroom.” Regardless of efforts by Republicans who’ve rallied round the potential of widespread voting fraud within the 2020 election to color the case as an indication of rampant voting fraud, there’s no signal her unlawful poll assortment went past the small-town politics Fuentes was concerned in.

Assistant Lawyer Common Todd Lawson instructed Nelson at a listening to final week that the case is concerning the safety of elections and that Fuentes deserved jail. Fuentes robotically loses her college board seat and can’t serve in an elected or appointed publish except the felony conviction is dropped to a misdemeanor, which may happen after she completes probation. She was ordered to show herself in to jail on Saturday.

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