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Monica Rene Mendez

A South Texas woman was arrested by the Texas Attorney General’s Office Wednesday on 26 counts of violating state election laws.

Monica Rene Mendez, 36, of Port Lavaca, was charged with three counts of illegal voting, seven counts of unlawful voter assistance, eight counts of returning marked ballots without consent and eight counts of election fraud, according to jail records.

Further details, including the jurisdiction, timing or specific nature of the alleged violations, as well as the number of ballots potentially affected, remained unclear Thursday.

(Election commissioner jailed, forced employees to drink colon cleanser Click HERE)

As of Thursday morning, Mendez remained in custody at the Victoria County jail, where she is being held on $1,000 bond.

Chief Deputy Will Franklin of the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office referred questions about the charges to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which did not immediately respond to an interview request Thursday morning.

(Report: Elections commissioner was 'a bully')

Victoria County Elections Administrator Margetta Hill said she was not aware of any violations that had occurred locally during this past November’s election or the May 1 elections this year. Local officials and the Attorney General’s office would typically communicate in the event of any election integrity issues, Hill said.

“They would notify me, and I would notify them if I was having a problem also,” Hill said.

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(Election Fraud charges dismissed)

Franklin said the Attorney General’s Office conducted an interview with Mendez at the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office, but said he did not know where the alleged election violations occurred.

“The reason they obtained (the warrant) here is more likely because she’s a resident here,” he said.

Several types of violations constitute illegal voting under Texas law, including voting by non-eligible voters, voting multiple times by the same person, impersonating another voter, using another person’s ballot or knowingly marking another person’s ballot without their consent.

Illegal voting is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, according to state law. Attempted illegal voting is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

Voters who have physical disabilities or language barriers are eligible to receive assistance in Texas. Unlawful voter assistance includes aiding voters ineligible to receive assistance, filling out a voter’s ballot in a way other than the way the voter directs, suggesting how the voter should vote while helping fill out their ballot or providing help to a voter who has not requested assistance.

Unlawful voter assistance is punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.

Since 2005, the Texas Attorney General’s Office has successfully prosecuted 534 election fraud offenses against 155 people, according to its website. There are 510 pending offenses statewide against 43 people, along with 386 active election fraud investigations.

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John is a two-time national columnist of the year and AP award-winner in Texas and New York for breaking news, videos and sports. He earned the Thomas J. Bulson Investigative Journalism award and has appeared on CNBC's American Greed, FOX and CNN.

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