YUMA COUNTY - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that Guillermina Fuentes of San Luis, a former Mayor of the City of San Luis, was sentenced Thursday October 13, 2022 to a two-year term of probation, and was ordered to serve a 30-day term in the Yuma County Jail for her role in in an August 2020 Primary Election "ballot harvesting" scheme where early ballots from other voters were collected and deposited into a ballot box on primary Election Day. Fuentes had entered a guilty plea on June 2, 2022, to one count of Ballot Abuse, a felony violation of Arizona law.
Judge Roger A. Nelson of the Yuma County Superior Court ordered Fuentes to surrender at the Yuma County Jail on October 15, 2022, at 6:00 pm and serve a 30-day term in jail that was not subject to potential early release or work furlough.
In December 2020, Fuentes and Alma Yadira Juarez, also of San Luis, were both indicted for 1 count each of Ballot Abuse, also known as “ballot harvesting.”
In a separate proceeding Thursday, Judge Nelson sentenced Juarez to a 12-month term of probation for her Ballot Abuse offense. Juarez had entered a guilty plea on January 20, 2022.
Arizona law only provides for a family member, household member, or caregiver of the voter to collect voted or unvoted early ballots from another person. Under Arizona law ballot harvesting is a class 6 felony.
This investigation was conducted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Section, Election Integrity Unit, and the Yuma County Sheriff's Office.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson prosecuted this case.