Limestone County Social Worker Faces 137 Election Fraud Charges

At a time when faith in our electoral process is hanging by a thread, it's beyond frustrating to see a story like this emerge, especially here in Texas.

The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced late last week that a Limestone County woman faces 134 felony charges after she allegedly used her position as a social worker at a supported living facility to submit voter registration applications for patients without their consent.

Kelly Reagan Brunner, an employee of the Mexia State Supported Living Center, is accused of submitting applications for 67 residents of the center while acting as their agent. The problem, Paxton's office says, is that Brunner did not have the permission of those residents, many of whom are ineligible to vote in Texas after having been declared completely mentally incapacitated by a court. Under Texas law, only a parent, child, or spouse of a person eligible to vote may act as their agent in order to register them to vote, and only with their consent.

Brunner was arrested Monday, November 2 after an investigation by the Limestone County Sheriff's office. Our partners at News 10 report that she was released from the Limestone County Jail on bond later that day.

If convicted, Brunner could face up to a decade in prison.

“Registering citizens to vote or to obtain mail ballots without their consent is illegal," Paxton said Friday. "It is particularly offensive when individuals purport to be champions for disability rights, when in reality they are abusing our most vulnerable citizens in order to gain access to their ballots and amplify their own political voice."

Last week, the Trump administration filed lawsuits in Georgia, Pennsylvania Nevada, and Michigan seeking to stop counting of mail-in ballots and allow Trump campaign observers to access counting facilities in order to review their processes.

The administration will press on with more legal challenges to election results.