Hardeman County Commissioner Pleads Guilty

QUANAH, November 7, 2005 - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s prosecutors have accepted the guilty plea of Hardeman County Precinct 1 Commissioner Johnny Akers, 59, for his role in illegally collecting mail-in ballots as a candidate in last year’s elections.

“We must hold officials accountable in every election held in this state because the right to vote is at the heart of who we are as a people,” said Attorney General Abbott. “We cannot tolerate a situation anywhere in Texas in which a candidate who appears on a ballot appoints himself as guardian of those ballots.”

Akers’ activities included both the primary and general elections in March and November 2004, following which he was elected to office. He pleaded guilty Friday to possession of an official ballot or carrier envelope of another person, a Class B misdemeanor under the Texas Election Code. He was placed on two years probation and fined $2,000.

Akers was indicted in June by a Hardeman County grand jury after it heard evidence of possible fraud presented by the Attorney General’s prosecutors, whose assistance was requested by County Attorney Stanley Watson.

Purporting to help certain voters with their ballots, Akers first made sure they were registered to vote by mail, then offered to pick up the ballots and deliver them to the voter registrar’s office. The activity violates Chapter 86 of the Texas Election Code, which addresses which officials may handle and process mail-in ballots.

Attorney General Abbott’s prosecutors also obtained a guilty plea in July on voter fraud charges leveled against Melva Kay Ponce of Bee County.

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