WHEN TOMASITA SHOWS UP WITH TAMALES, IT MUST BE ELECTION TIME

By Juan Montoya
If he was anything, the elderly resident of the high rise operated by the Brownsville Housing Authority it was jovially frank.
One of perhaps 30 seniors who were induced by politiqueras in the hire of the Erin Gracia Hernandez campaign to vote by mail in the July 31 JP 2-2 runoff race, he recalls laughingly that when politiquera Tomasita Chavez shows up with a half-dozen tamales in front of his door, it must be time to vote.
Voting, in the definition that has come to be known to residents of the 14-story retirement edifice, consists of signing their name on the ballot inside the green envelope that arrives at their mail box at the high rise, signing the envelope, and then handing it over to Chavez, who gives them the six tamales.
It's not exactly a biblical pottage of lentils, but they serve the same purpose, apparently.
"What would you call that?" he asks, laughing at the interviewer. "Is it selling the vote? Of course, it is."
Whether it's the promise of a half-dozen tamales, a plate of barbecued chicken, or an occasional gift of Mexican sweet bread, the cadre of the Hernandez political machine have refined voter fraud to an exquisite art. The relationships established with these elderly over the course of a few decades allow them the entry each election season. To the voters, who must meet economically disadvantaged qualification parameters to be able to live there, a half-dozen tamales, a plate of chicken and two or three pieces of pastry are a welcome addition to their daily diet.
Then, the salesmanship of the politiqueras takes over.
"They say why do you bother to go out into the hot sun and vote in person when you can just do it by mail?" said the man. "Then they say that they will do it for you so you won't have to bother. 'Just sign the envelope and we'll take care of it.'"
Extensive interviews of many of the elderly who voted in the runoff election indicates to members of the Citizens Against Voter Abuse (CAVA) the existence an extensive network of political operatives who work in conjunction to harvest votes for the highest bidder. In the case of the July 31st election, the pre-marked ballots that these operatives were handing out included Erin Hernandez, Carlos Masso, Abel Gomez, and even Denise Blanchard, in the race for the Democratic Party nomination for the new Congressional District 34.
Hernandez's victory over Yolanda Begum for JP 2-2 triggered a lawsuit that was dismissed by a visiting judge on a time technicality without any deliberation over the massive voter fraud alleged by Begum's attorneys. Apparently, the judge heeded the testimony of Cameron County's Election Administrator Roger Ortiz who said that he would not have enough time to print the November general election ballots if Hernandez was to lose and she appealed the decision.
Almost lost in the shuffle was the lawsuit filed by Pete Avila, the Pct. 2 Constable defeated by challenger Abel Gomez. Avila filed a lawsuit mirroring Begum's that has yet to be heard. Representing Avila is local attorney Juan Jose Martinez. Gomez contracted the services of legal eagle Ernesto Gamez.
Still, it is doubtful to many that Avila's lawsuit will have a different outcome than Begum's, though it's hard to determine what Martinez's argument will be.
Regardless of the outcome in that litigation, the voters who cast their ballots with Tomasita will never know, or perhaps care.
"Quien sabe por quien votamos," said the jovial man. "If we got tamales and she took the vote, what's that called? Is it selling your vote? What  would you call it?