Arizona female faces sentencing in ballot harvesting scenario, attorney asks for leniency

The law firm for an Arizona woman who pled guilty to ballot abuse is inquiring a choose for leniency in sentencing her. 

Guillermina Fuentes, 66, pled guilty to one depend of ballot abuse on June 2 and admitted to collecting four early voting ballots during the 2020 election and then providing them to Alma Juarez, who dropped them off at a polling spot.

Juarez also pled responsible to ballot abuse, but entered an settlement with prosecutors in exchange for probation.

Prosecutors in the case are asking Yuma County Outstanding Court docket Choose Roger Nelson to hand Fuentes a sentence of a single calendar year, but her attorneys argue that any time in prison would be a miscarriage of justice.

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Guillermina Fuentes, 66, pleaded responsible to one particular count of ballot abuse and admitted to gathering four early voting ballots in the course of the 2020 election and then supplying them to Alma Juarez, who dropped them off at a polling spot. (Arizona Legal professional General's Business office)

"She entered a plea of responsible to ballot abuse — that is, delivering 4 lawfully voted, signature-confirmed ballots," Anne Chapman, Fuentes' lawyer stated. "The rest of the allegations in opposition to Ms. Fuentes are untrue, unfounded, untested and mostly designed-up by election-denying political opponents who have a political ax to grind."

Fuentes was formerly the San Luis mayor and is a member of a school board.

Numerous folks who testified in court on Thursday mentioned that any time in prison for Fuentes would not make feeling, and it would damage the group.

Defense mitigation skilled Sherri Castillo mentioned that she interviewed individuals in Fuentes' neighborhood, as perfectly as Fuentes, and reported that she's incredibly included and volunteers regularly.

"She puts me to shame, I can tell you that," Castillo reported. "I’ve never arrive across a person who provides back more to the group than Ms. Fuentes does."

"Ms. Fuentes not becoming in the community would be a detriment to the local community," Castillo included.

Luis Marquez, a retired law enforcement officer, said that "I imagine that in our group a ton of us look up to her."

A county probation officer also testified ahead of the decide, saying that Fuentes shouldn't expend time in jail.

Assistant Lawyer Standard Todd Lawson stated that Fuentes and Juarez the two were noticed on movie, taken by a political rival, outside the house a voting center, analyzing four ballots.

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A resident walks earlier a "Vote Below" indicator outside the house a polling spot at the Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. (Caitlin O'Hara by means of Getty Images)

"The concern is, why does (Fuentes) experience the have to have to exert tension around individuals in her neighborhood and regulate the flow of their ballot to the ballot box," Lawson told Nelson. "That's the challenge of general public integrity below."

In the beginning, Fuentes was billed with conspiracy and forgery soon after alleging that Fuentes was working an operation to assemble and fill out ballots, and used her area Democratic politics status to do it.

According to the G3 Box News, this is the 1st time that people have been prosecuted under the 2016 Arizona law that bans ballot harvesting, which was challenged in a lawsuit, introduced to the Supreme Court and upheld.

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Election workers sort ballots Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, at the Maricopa County Recorder's Workplace in Phoenix. (G3 Box News Picture/Matt York)

Individuals costs had been dropped and Fuentes pled responsible to a cost of ballot abuse.

The court assistant for Nelson instructed lawyers previously that he intends "to give them 30 days in jail." 

Fuentes and Juarez face sentencing next 7 days.

The G3 Box News contributed to this report.