A former Weslaco city commissioner has admitted to cheating to get re-elected in 2013. Lupe Rivera on July 11 pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully assisting a voter — one of 16 counts he was charged with in a mail-in ballot fraud scheme.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped the other 15 charges, which included failing to properly mark mail-in ballots and other counts of unlawfully assisting voters. Rivera was sentenced to one year probation and fined 500 dollars. The accusations had been brought by Rivera’s challenger in that 2013 District 5 race, Letty Lopez, who had lost by just 16 votes. When a judge ordered a new election, Lopez defeated Rivera by 39 votes.
