Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Shannon Brown and his wife, Marlena Jackson, each pleaded guilty to one count of election fraud, a Class A misdemeanor, for their role in illegal vote harvesting in the March 2018 Gregg County Democratic Primary election, where Brown was elected Gregg County Commissioner, Precinct 4 by just five votes. Brown and Jackson were sentenced to one year of probation and a fine of $2,000.
Brown wrote a public apology to the Gregg County community as a condition of accepting responsibility in this case. This result comes after a lengthy investigation by Attorney General Paxton’s Election Integrity Unit, which referred the case to the Gregg County District Attorney’s office for prosecution.
“I commend District Attorney Tom Watson for prosecuting this case,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Elections should be fair – and it is our civic duty to report unlawful behavior. I would also like to thank my Election Integrity Unit, whose thorough investigation and assistance ensured that Gregg County will continue to have lawful and just local elections.”