Voter Fraud Convictions in New Mexico, 2016-2020
Return to the Voter Fraud Convictions Summary Chart
| A. Conviction Details | B. Background | C. Potential Election Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Election Year: 2016 / 2018 Name: Laura Seeds Party Affiliation: Democrat[1]Email from the Elections HelpDesk, New Mexico Compliance Officer, notified us that Laura Seeds was a registered Democrat, however, they note that they “do not have access to an … Continue reading[2]According the website of the Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico, voters may declare a party affiliation on their voter registration forms or check a “No Party” option. Voters … Continue reading Offense and Sentencing: Laura Seeds was found guilty by a jury on 11/06/2019 of two felony counts each of making false statements relative to the municipal election code and unlawful possession of another’s absentee ballot, and one felony count of conspiracy to violate the election code[3]New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800048, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 in relation to offenses committed during the 2016 municipal elections in Española, New Mexico.[4]Edmundo Carrillo, “Laura Seeds Found Guilty of Tampering in 2016 Election,” abqjournal.com, November 7, 2019 Seeds was sentenced on 12/9/2019[5]New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800048, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 to six months of house arrest and five years of probation.[6]Nathanael King, “Seeds Sentenced to Six Months House Arrest,” riograndesun.com, December 12, 2019 Laura Seeds was also charged on 4/4/2018 with one felony count each of committing intimidation in a municipal election and voter coercion, and one misdemeanor count of disturbing a polling place in a municipal election in relation to offenses committed during a March 2018 mayoral election in Española, New Mexico.[7]Phaedra Haywood, “Grand Jury Indicts Seeds on New Charges in Española Election,” apnews.com, April 6, 2018 and New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds … Continue reading As of April 2022, the outcome of this case is pending.[8]New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800116, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 | “The wife of an Española city councilor was found guilty Thursday of several charges of tampering with a municipal election to get her husband elected in 2016. Laura Seeds, 52,… was accused of forging signatures on several absentee ballots to help her husband, Robert Seeds, get elected to the Española city council. … She was accused of conspiring with 24-year-old Dyon Herrera to falsify several absentee ballots in favor of Robert Seeds.”[9]Edmundo Carrillo, “Laura Seeds Found Guilty of Tampering in 2016 Election,” abqjournal.com, November 7, 2019 “A Rio Arriba County grand jury has indicted Laura Seeds, the wife of Española City Councilor Robert Seeds, on charges of intimidation, voter coercion and disturbing a polling place in a municipal election last month [March 2018]. The indictments, issued Wednesday [4/4/2018], accuse Seeds of committing the crimes — two felonies and a misdemeanor, carrying a total maximum penalty of three and a half years in prison — on March 2, voting day in Española, where her husband ran unsuccessfully for mayor.”[10]Phaedra Haywood, “Grand Jury Indicts Seeds on New Charges in Española Election,” apnews.com, April 6, 2018 Case Notes: State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds Case Number: D-117-CR-201800048 (2016 election offenses) Case Number: D-117-CR-201800116 (2018 election offenses) Court Records (2016) and Court Records (2018) | Type of Election: City Council Party Affiliation: Democrat Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections |
| 2. | Election Year: 2016 Name: Dyon Herrera Party Affiliation: Democrat[11]Email from the Elections HelpDesk, New Mexico Compliance Officer, notified us that Dyon Herrera was a registered Democrat, however, they note that they “do not have access to an … Continue reading[12]According the website of the Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico, voters may declare a party affiliation on their voter registration forms or check a “No Party” option. Voters … Continue reading Offense and Sentencing: Dyon Herrera pleaded guilty on 10/24/2019 to one felony charge of conspiracy to violate the election code,[13]New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Dyon Herrera – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800047, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 in relation to offenses committed during the 2016 municipal elections in Española, New Mexico; three further felony charges were dropped as part of a plea deal.[14]T. S. Last, “Co-Defendant Takes Plea in Laura Seeds Election Case,” abqjournal.com, October 25, 2019 Herrera was sentenced on 01/13/2020[15]New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Dyon Herrera – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800047, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 to 18 months probation.[16]Phaedra Haywood, “Campaign Worker Sentenced for Conspiracy to Violate Election Code,” santafenewmexican.com, January 13, 2020 | “Dyon Herrera, 24, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the municipal code – a fourth-degree felony – in October after being accused of signing the applications of his grandparents and another man in order to obtain their absentee ballots from a city clerk. Herrera told prosecutors he signed the applications at the behest of Laura Seeds while working on her husband City Councilor Robert Seeds’ re-election campaign.”[17]Phaedra Haywood, “Campaign Worker Sentenced for Conspiracy to Violate Election Code,” santafenewmexican.com, January 13, 2020 Case Notes: State of New Mexico v. Dyon Herrera Case Number: D-117-CR-201800047 Court Records | Type of Election: City Council Party Affiliation: Democrat Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections |
References
| ↑1 | Email from the Elections HelpDesk, New Mexico Compliance Officer, notified us that Laura Seeds was a registered Democrat, however, they note that they “do not have access to an individual’s voting records and therefore cannot provide you with which party they intended to vote for.” July 22, 2021 |
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| ↑2, ↑12 | According the website of the Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico, voters may declare a party affiliation on their voter registration forms or check a “No Party” option. Voters must be registered with a party in order to vote in a primary election. Office of the Secretary of State of New Mexico, “Voting and Elections,” portal.sos.state.nm.us, accessed on April 20, 20222 |
| ↑3, ↑5 | New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800048, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 |
| ↑4, ↑9 | Edmundo Carrillo, “Laura Seeds Found Guilty of Tampering in 2016 Election,” abqjournal.com, November 7, 2019 |
| ↑6 | Nathanael King, “Seeds Sentenced to Six Months House Arrest,” riograndesun.com, December 12, 2019 |
| ↑7 | Phaedra Haywood, “Grand Jury Indicts Seeds on New Charges in Española Election,” apnews.com, April 6, 2018 and New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800116, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 |
| ↑8 | New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Laura Seeds – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800116, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 |
| ↑10 | Phaedra Haywood, “Grand Jury Indicts Seeds on New Charges in Española Election,” apnews.com, April 6, 2018 |
| ↑11 | Email from the Elections HelpDesk, New Mexico Compliance Officer, notified us that Dyon Herrera was a registered Democrat, however, they note that they “do not have access to an individual’s voting records and therefore cannot provide you with which party they intended to vote for.” July 22, 2021 |
| ↑13, ↑15 | New Mexico Courts, Case Lookup – State of New Mexico v. Dyon Herrera – Case Number: D-117-CR-201800047, caselookup.nmcourts.gov, accessed on April 20, 2022 |
| ↑14 | T. S. Last, “Co-Defendant Takes Plea in Laura Seeds Election Case,” abqjournal.com, October 25, 2019 |
| ↑16, ↑17 | Phaedra Haywood, “Campaign Worker Sentenced for Conspiracy to Violate Election Code,” santafenewmexican.com, January 13, 2020 |