Texas state agents searched the homes of top Zapata County leaders. They took phone records. They took bank records. It was part of a probe into cheating at the polls.

The Center Square broke the story. The news outlet said it got 73 pages of sealed court papers. The papers are search warrant affidavits. They spell out what agents think happened. A court unsealed them.

No one has been charged with a crime. The case is still open.

Zapata County is small. It sits right on the river. Local races there can turn on a few dozen votes. That is why this case hits home.

The Texas Attorney General has a team called the Election Integrity Unit. That team opened the case in September 2025.

Agents served the warrants in July. They went to the home of County Judge Joe Rathmell and his wife, Gina Rathmell. They went to the home of Sheriff Ramon Montes and his wife, Sonia Sanchez. They went to the home of the sheriff's secretary, Norma Garcia, and her husband, Corando Barrera. They also went to the homes of campaign worker Laura Garza and Justice of the Peace Olga Bruni.

The court papers list what agents believe each person did. For the Rathmells and for Garza, agents wrote down vote harvesting. That is a state crime. It means paying someone to stand with a voter and steer that vote. For Montes, agents wrote down vote harvesting and bribery. For Barrera, bribery. For Bruni, bribery and abuse of official capacity. That last one means using a public job for private gain.

These are only claims by agents. A court has not ruled on any of them.

The papers say voters told agents they got paid to vote. Some said the price was $20. Some said $25. Drivers who hauled voters to the polls got $50, voters told agents.

Agents wrote that Barrera pulled cash out of the sheriff's campaign bank account. They said he handed it to voters after they voted. One hand off spot was near a porta potty by the county courthouse, the papers say.

The papers also point at the sheriff's wife. Agents wrote that Sonia Sanchez walked voters into the building. They said she told them how to mark the ballot. Agents cite video, bank records and voter statements.

There is a second thread in the papers. Agents say the sheriff worked with the justice of the peace to wipe out tickets. The deal, agents claim, was a dropped citation for a vote. About 100 tickets were dropped in the year before the 2024 race, agents wrote.

One line in the papers sums up the claim against Bruni. It says she "committed the offense of Bribery by offering a benefit of citation dismissal to voters in exchange for their vote."

Agents leaned on people who used to work inside these campaigns. One was a former campaign worker for the judge. One used to work for the justice of the peace. El Tejano is not naming them.

Agents also pulled phone logs. They counted 174 calls and texts between Garza and Judge Rathmell from June 2024 to June 2026. They counted 1,035 between Garza and Gina Rathmell in that same stretch.

This did not start with the state. It started with two losing candidates.

Martha Morales ran for county judge in the March 2026 Democratic primary. She lost to Rathmell by 66 votes. The count was 2,248 to 2,182. She sued. Her case was tossed out because she filed too late. She asked the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to step in.

Former Sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque did much the same thing. He lost the March 2024 primary to Montes. He sued. He lost. He asked the state to look at the race.

The people named in the papers are pushing back. Gina Rathmell put out a statement on Facebook. She said she and her husband have "publicly and fairly served" the county for 22 years. She said the papers "are NOT charges, they are only allegations." She said they cannot talk about the case now.

Barrera also posted on Facebook. "Accusations are easy to make but proving them is an entirely different story," he wrote.

The judge did not answer questions from The Center Square. Neither did the sheriff, his secretary, Garza or Bruni. The Attorney General's office did not answer either.

Another losing candidate now wants more. Carmen Mena-Paredes ran for county clerk and lost. She wants the state to check every race on the ballot.

The state probe is still going. No charges have been filed against anyone.

A charge is not proof. Everyone is innocent until a court says otherwise.