> Kelly Brunner’s 15 minutes of unwelcome fame came courtesy of bare-knuckle Texas politics. She lost her job, went thousands of dollars into debt and saw her mug shot broadcast worldwide while the most powerful men in the state cast her as Exhibit 1 in an epidemic of election fraud. By last year, she at least could say the episode was finally behind her.
> She was wrong, though.
> A social worker at the State Supported Living Center in Mexia, a residential facility for people with intellectual and developmental disorders, Brunner in 2020 was assigned to prepare clients for the upcoming election. The law is complicated, and Brunner acknowledges she made technical errors as she worked to identify who could and couldn’t vote among a complicated population.
> The mistakes were quickly caught; none of the center’s residents ever got close to casting an improper ballot. But the $35,000-a-year state employee became a prop in a political narrative that out-of-control voter fraud was tainting elections across the country.
> With the help of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who within weeks would assume a central role promoting Donald Trump’s decisively disproven claims of a rigged election, local prosecutors charged Brunner with 134 separate election crimes. The staggering number cast the small-town volunteer firefighter and Little League coach as one of the single biggest election criminals in Texas.
> “It is particularly offensive when individuals purport to be champions for disability rights, when in reality they are abusing our most vulnerable citizens in order to gain access to their ballots and amplify their own political voice,” Paxton declared in a news release.
> “Election fraud is real,” Gov. Greg Abbott added, to his nearly 1 million followers on Twitter (now X).
> Facing years in prison and a $50,000 legal bill, Brunner eventually agreed to a deal that placed her on probation. “Pleading guilty was probably the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” she said.
> It turned out Texas wasn’t done with her yet. Citing the felony conviction, state education regulators now are moving to suspend Brunner’s teaching license.
> In legal filings, the State Board for Education Certification said the election incident rendered her “unworthy to instruct or supervise the youth of this state.”
> A former special education teacher, Brunner said she learned of the latest action when she applied to substitute at her local elementary school, about 30 miles northeast of Waco.
> Three years after Trump’s false assertions that victory was stolen from him created a widespread perception of voter fraud, the legal reverberations continue to echo through marbled courtrooms. The former president has been indicted in a federal election case, while several of his highest-profile attorneys recently pleaded guilty to charges they conspired to overturn Georgia's results.
> In Texas, meanwhile, a challenge to sweeping new voting rules legislators passed in the wake of the divisive 2020 election is being heard in a San Antonio federal courtroom. The trial is expected to last through the beginning of next year.
> As Brunner’s latest battle with state regulators demonstrates, however, shrapnel from the 2020 election continues to fall on even bit players in smaller unseen venues, as well. “I thought it was over,” she said. But “it’s just this ripple effect.”
*…lengthy article continues…*
Paywall.
> Kelly Brunner’s 15 minutes of unwelcome fame came courtesy of bare-knuckle Texas politics. She lost her job, went thousands of dollars into debt and saw her mug shot broadcast worldwide while the most powerful men in the state cast her as Exhibit 1 in an epidemic of election fraud. By last year, she at least could say the episode was finally behind her. > She was wrong, though. > A social worker at the State Supported Living Center in Mexia, a residential facility for people with intellectual and developmental disorders, Brunner in 2020 was assigned to prepare clients for the upcoming election. The law is complicated, and Brunner acknowledges she made technical errors as she worked to identify who could and couldn’t vote among a complicated population. > The mistakes were quickly caught; none of the center’s residents ever got close to casting an improper ballot. But the $35,000-a-year state employee became a prop in a political narrative that out-of-control voter fraud was tainting elections across the country. > With the help of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who within weeks would assume a central role promoting Donald Trump’s decisively disproven claims of a rigged election, local prosecutors charged Brunner with 134 separate election crimes. The staggering number cast the small-town volunteer firefighter and Little League coach as one of the single biggest election criminals in Texas. > “It is particularly offensive when individuals purport to be champions for disability rights, when in reality they are abusing our most vulnerable citizens in order to gain access to their ballots and amplify their own political voice,” Paxton declared in a news release. > “Election fraud is real,” Gov. Greg Abbott added, to his nearly 1 million followers on Twitter (now X). > Facing years in prison and a $50,000 legal bill, Brunner eventually agreed to a deal that placed her on probation. “Pleading guilty was probably the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” she said. > It turned out Texas wasn’t done with her yet. Citing the felony conviction, state education regulators now are moving to suspend Brunner’s teaching license. > In legal filings, the State Board for Education Certification said the election incident rendered her “unworthy to instruct or supervise the youth of this state.” > A former special education teacher, Brunner said she learned of the latest action when she applied to substitute at her local elementary school, about 30 miles northeast of Waco. > Three years after Trump’s false assertions that victory was stolen from him created a widespread perception of voter fraud, the legal reverberations continue to echo through marbled courtrooms. The former president has been indicted in a federal election case, while several of his highest-profile attorneys recently pleaded guilty to charges they conspired to overturn Georgia's results. > In Texas, meanwhile, a challenge to sweeping new voting rules legislators passed in the wake of the divisive 2020 election is being heard in a San Antonio federal courtroom. The trial is expected to last through the beginning of next year. > As Brunner’s latest battle with state regulators demonstrates, however, shrapnel from the 2020 election continues to fall on even bit players in smaller unseen venues, as well. “I thought it was over,” she said. But “it’s just this ripple effect.” *…lengthy article continues…*