Voter Fraud

The city of Vernon on Wednesday was roiled by allegations of widespread voter fraud, including claims that outsiders were brought in to vote in an attempt to influence the city's first competitive election in years. The Chamber of Commerce alleges that nearly 30% of the registered voters didn't live in Vernon. In response to the group's complaints, city officials threw out six ballots Tuesday, tilting the election for a City Council seat to challenger Michael Ybarra, who won by five votes.

I read, with interest, your article about the investigation of possible voter registration fraud by employees of the California Voter Registration Project and the Assembly Democrats Statewide Voter Registration Project (Oct. 14). One very important fact was not mentioned: It was the Democratic Caucus in the Assembly that asked for the investigation two months ago, after our own internal verification process identified the possible wrongdoing by employees of those private firms that had been contracted to implement voter registration.

Compton City Councilwoman Leslie Irving denied in court Friday that she registered noncitizens to vote in that city's controversial June election, testimony that conflicted with that of two immigrant women the day before. Irving testified in the Compton election fraud trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court that she never went to the trailer park where Elvira Andrabe and Anatacia Boap lived and that she did not know either woman.

Can sportswriters really be trusted with voting for football and baseball hall of fame candidates? Sportswriter Norman Chad doesn't think so. Writing for AOL, he pointed out recently that in 1936, for the first baseball Hall of Fame induction class, 11 of 226 voters didn't vote for Babe Ruth. Four of the 226 didn't vote for Ty Cobb. He found 20 of 302 voters in 1966 left a blank next to Ted Williams' name. And in 1979, 23 of 432 didn't vote for Willie Mays.

Re "Bill to Bolster Election Clout Gains," May 31 Under the current Electoral College system, voter fraud and corruption are limited to a particular state. No matter how many dead people vote in Chicago, the effect on the national election doesn't go beyond Illinois' electoral votes. If California awards its votes based on the popular vote in the entire country, the incentive for voter fraud across the nation would become huge. When Louisiana casts millions more votes than it has registered voters, are we really going to reward that behavior with California's electoral votes?

If the Democrats are so sure there was no voter fraud in the 46th District election, why are they spending so much time, money and effort to stop the investigation? Now, the Democrats are initiating action to clog and interrupt House proceedings in Washington to get their way. I am astounded that they have the audacity to deliberately undermine the progress of our nation's business. If they really want a quick conclusion of this probe, why have they made every attempt to stall it?

A former mayor of Vernon and his wife were convicted Friday of voter fraud and conspiracy, capping a three-year legal saga that ended the family's long grip over the tiny industrial city in southeast Los Angeles County. Prosecutors accused Leonis and Dominica Malburg of engaging in an elaborate sham in which they pretended to reside in Vernon while actually living in a large home in Hancock Park, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Huntsman. "Many politicians . . . claim they can run for office where they don't really live," Huntsman said.

Two Republican voter registration workers were sentenced Wednesday to four months in jail after pleading guilty to voter fraud for forging signatures. Edward Barquet, 27, of Stockton and his girlfriend, Michelle Corrall, 28, of Lodi, were paid $4 for each GOP voter they registered. Three voters complained to San Joaquin County elections officials after receiving notice that they had been reregistered in September 2000.

A signature gatherer has been convicted of felony voter-registration fraud for signing up people who were ineligible to vote in Orange County, authorities said Wednesday. Don Cornell Williams was sentenced to 61 days in jail and three years' probation, Secretary of State Debra Bowen said. Williams is prohibited from participating in any voter-registration activities while on probation. The Sacramento-based signature gatherer, apparently motivated by a $10 fee for each new registered voter, pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court to improperly registering two teenagers not yet old enough to vote and a noncitizen ineligible to vote.

Two Ventura County women have pleaded guilty to voter fraud for, among other charges, submitting dead people's names as newly registered Republicans. Angela Robinson-Adams of Ventura and Lisa Marie Krueger of Oxnard were promised probation in exchange for their guilty pleas to six felony charges, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert D. Meyers said Friday. They are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 20 by Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele.