Note: Title edited as per a suggestion in the comments
To expand on the voter fraud in San Bernardino County that the CDP alerted us to yesterday, funded by would-be governor Steve Poizner, Carol Robb of the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee has provided more details, including Republican DA Mike Ramos' unwillingness to even return Democrats' calls:
Here's what has happened:
·Immediately after the Labor Day weekend, we saw a large increase in San Bernardino County in Republican Registration, as compared to Democratic, for the first time in 14 months
·The office of the Registrar of Voters was alerted to this situation by Carol Robb.
·The Secretary of State's office was also alerted by a phone call from Carol Robb.
·Knowing that voter registration fraud was taking place in Riverside County, Carol Robb got a list from the Registrar of Voters, containing new registrations and re-registrations between Aug. 18 and Sept. 3. That file was used to identify over 400 voters whose registration changed from Democrat, or "declined to state," to Republican.
·Calls were made to about 100 randomly selected voters from the 400+ on the list. Because of incorrect phone numbers, only 33 interviews were completed.
·Phone interviews determined that 27, of the 33 voters reached had been "slammed" -- their party affiliation was improperly changed.
·The advice of the California Democratic Party was sought, and Bob Mulholland was designated to assist us.
·Carol Robb, Patrick Kahler, Sam Clauder, and Phil Robb (Carol's husband, retired Deputy DA) met with Kari Verjil and her key staff on Friday, September 12. The Registrar was given all information, including copies of our 33 telephone interview forms.
·Carol Robb also filed an on-line complaint with the DA's Public Integrity Unit.
·Carol and Sam kept in close contact with Bob Mulholland, who constantly urged us to "go public."
·When our calls to the DA's office were unreturned Monday and again Tuesday morning, Mulholland took matters into his own hands, and sent out a press release from the state party linking San Bernardino's situation to State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's repeated press releases, about his personal funding of Republican voter registration bounty programs.
·In the meantime, the Registrar's office has handed over all information to both the District Attorney and the Secretary of State, with her request for immediate investigation.
·Congressman Baca was asked to call DA Mike Ramos to urge immediate action.
·Supervisor Josie Gonzalez has pledged to contact the DA's office and urge immediate action.
·A copy of our press release and other information has been shared with a representative of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. Karen Bass will be meeting with both Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Attorney General Jerry Brown in the next day or so, and will share our information directly with them.
SBD Republicans are trying to cast this as Democratic sour grapes but it's clear that there is something worth investigating here. Democrats are holding a press conference at 11 AM today to explain the matter to local media and demand an investigation and accountability.
It's worth keeping in mind that this isn't just about the 2008 cycle - but that the involvement of Steve Poizner, a leading candidate for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2010, suggests this could be a long-term strategy for Republicans in California. Certainly the track record of YPM, the Republican firm at the center of the scandal and with many years of voter registration fraud dating back to at least 2004, suggests this to be the case.
(The man who would be Governor... - promoted by jsw)
Title updated.
When Republican State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced with California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring on August 28, 2008 that he would contribute enough money to pay $5 for every new Republican voter registration, no one expected a voter registration card "slamming" program.
In San Bernardino County the California Republican Party with their local Republican affiliates hired a firm from outside California called YPM - Young Political Majors, owned by a man named Mark Jacoby and run out of Florida and Arizona - to commit the same voter fraud that got YPM run out of other states.
Some Coachella Valley voters were duped into registering as Republicans, the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee alleged Wednesday.
The party is launching an investigation into the 2,312 new Republican voters that were registered countywide between July 14 and Aug. 11, many in Coachella Valley cities that typically swing Democrat.
They've also contacted the Secretary of State and District Attorney's office. Riverside County DA spokesman Michael Jeandron said he could neither confirm nor deny any investigations.
Democrat party officials raised the questions after getting numerous reports that people were standing outside of stores saying they were collecting signatures for child abuse-related petitions, only to turn around and use the names for voter registration.
(Question: is Michael Jeandron related to Gary Jeandron, the former Palm Springs police chief who's now running as a Republican for State Assembly in AD-80?)
Now, exactly what the point for this would be is an open question. If they're registering voters without telling them, it could perhaps get problematic later if these voters tried to legitimately register as Democrats. That might throw up a lot of mud about doubled registration forms and voter fraud. The other possibilities are that Riverside County Republicans want to maintain their voter registration lead, or simply that paid signature gatherers wanted a few extra dollars for themselves for turning in additional voter registration forms.
Nonetheless, it's very curious.
While shopping at the local Wal-Mart, (Eric Antuna) was asked to sign a petition protesting the early release of child molesters.
He agreed - until he was told he would have to fill out a registration card to prove his identity so the petitioner could be paid.
"Do you mind if I put you as a Republican?" Antuna said the man asked him.
The Democrat did mind.
This is an ongoing investigation and I'm sure the Riverside County Dems will have more.
UPDATE: This is not the first time questions have been raised about GOP voter registration efforts in Riverside County.
We spend a lot of time in these news updates showing how charges of voter fraud are used to discredit voter participation efforts and prime the pump for voter suppression efforts, such as the passage of voter ID bills, pushing for proof of citizenship, engaging in draconian voter purge efforts, and imposing sever restrictions on voter registration drives. We have also spent a lot of time carefully delineating the politics behind these efforts, starting with our March 2007 report The Politics Of Voter Fraud and continuing on in these diaries to name but two venues.
Last night I was fortunate enough to be present at a small-group discussion with Secretary of State Debra Bowen hosted by the California League of Conservation Voters. Despite this being a hectic time for the Secretary of State (E-12, in her parlance), she took a couple hours to fill us in on efforts leading up to this year of three separate elections.
In the final two weeks for voters to be eligible for the February 5 primary, there was a surge of registration. At a "midnight registration drive" in Sacramento, over 1,500 citizens registered to vote in one day (sadly, registrars in places like Los Angeles County resisted efforts to do the same because it would be "inconvenient" for them to update their voter rolls). While she had no prediction on turnout in the primary, Bowen was confident that there will be a lot of excitement and potentially a good turnout. One drawback is the fact that decline-to-state voters have to opt-in to receive a ballot for the Democratic primary (they are shut out from the Republican primary). When I asked Bowen about this, she replied that counties are required to actually notify DTS voters of their rights, and that some precinct locations will have signage notifying them to that end, but that this is insufficient and her hands are tied by state law to some extent. The parties who want to welcome DTS voters into their primary have a big role to play in this. The Democratic Party, if they want to expand their base, should make a legitimate effort to let DTS voters know they can vote in the primary. It will have the effect of getting them in the habit of voting Democratic and give them a stake in the party. There are also legislative reforms, regarding mandatory signage inside the polling place, changes to the vote-by-mail process (nonpartisan voters must request a partisan ballot), that can be taken.
The California Attorney General's office announced today that Tan Nguyen will not face charges in the fraudulent letter he sent out to disenfranchise Latino voters. Former Attorney General Bill Lockyer quickly moved into action to ensure Nguyen was held accountable. Unfortunately he did not have enough time in his term left. Democrat(although I am hesitant to call him that at this point) Jerry Brown took over as Attorney General. His spokesman Gary Schons is quoted as saying
"We had to prove that they intended to intimidate lawfully registered voters. We found no evidence that they intended to intimidate lawfully registered voters. In fact, the first line of the letter said, 'If you're a lawfully registered voter, we encourage you to vote.' A lot of people missed that."
No kidding a lot of people missed it Mr. Schons, it was meant to be missed. Even Republicans were calling for his head.
So is there something that Jerry Brown missed here? Follow me after the flip for more...
The Executive Director of the OC GOP, some guy named George, called Ryan and complained about this post. He asked Ryan to remove my reference to the OC GOP voter registration effort. No go! Ryan was NOT my source for that information. And no, it is not coming down. If the OC GOP wants to put a guy in charge of voter registration in central OC, who ran perhaps the most anti-Latino campaign I have ever seen (i.e. Trung Nguyen standing at the border to "stop" the Mexicans), that is his prerogative. But it is a dumb idea!
Here's a shocker - my sources are telling me that GOP Assemblyman Van Tran is trying to talk Democrat (and former state legislator) Joe Dunn into running against Supervisor Janet Nguyen in two years. Tran is apparently still quite bitter over Nguyen's victory over his Trannie, Trung Nguyen. This sort of thing is not new for Tran - he has worked behind the scenes with other Democrats before, such as Bruce Broadwater and Mark Rosen.
Rosen by the way changed a prior vote and ended up backing Republican Steve Jones to replace Janet on the Garden Grove City Council. I wonder if Tran had anything to do with that? Jones is a developer - watch and see if he either has contributed to Tran and his cronies or will do so in the near future.
While we are on the subject of Trannies, Trung's campaign manager, Saulo Londono, was apparently tabbed by the OC GOP to conduct voter registration in Central Orange County. They didn't even bother to ask Janet how she felt about this. The sense was that Van Tran has been successful at this and so they went with the Trannies. I cannot see how this is going to work out. The Trannies will make this work for them and will not try to help the most prominent GOP elected official in the area, Janet Nguyen. (Yes, she is ostensibly in a non-partisan office, but you know that is true in name only).
So what's going on with those lovely Republicans? And why do they hate bloggers? Well, follow me after the flip for more...
OK, I just noticed this on Total Buzz... But I'm not really surprised:
Coming as a surprise to absolutely no one, the Consigliere Schroeder (see also: Darth Vader, Darth Schroeder, or any Godfather reference) says Trung Nguyen will appeal the judge's decision this week that made Janet Nguyen the winner of the First District supes seat.
Mike told me that Team Trung is waiting for the transcripts from the trial in Judge Michael Brenner's court and they will then file with the state court of appeals. Perhaps the higher court will agree with the "Schroederian view" of the state recount law and maybe Team Janet shouldn't get too comfortable up on the Fifth Floor...
OK, sorry about my ranting. It's just that I live here, and I am sick and tired of these GOP Machine scumbags whine and complain about "gaming the system" when they themselves have used some VERYILLEGALTACTICS to "game the system". Unlike many of their possible victims, these GOP Machine scumbags got their day in court... And the judge ruled that there was no "gaming". Team Trung need to let it go, and allow for Central Orange County to move on.
I hope they realize that soon, and that I can stop ranting about all this crap soon.
OK, I know that I shouldn't be doing this...
But I just can't help it! Total Buzz made me do it! ; )
Got a press release today saying that Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Garden Grove, will be in Santa Ana on Friday to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit -- an income-tax benefit for the poor. Among those on hand will be Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante -- who was among those running for supervisor this year against Tran's candidate, Trung Nguyen -- and the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, which is often finds Democrats more sympathetic to their causes. Former U.S. Treasurer and currently -- take a breath -- California State and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Rosario Marin will also be there.
(Clearly, Andrew and I don't agree on this one. I think that democracy is worth fighting for, even if you don't like the people involved. To me, accuracy is more important than finality. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.
Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.
Who cares what the democrat lawyers who work for Fabian Nunez and Don Perata think? It has no force of law. The campaign is over. Schroeder needs to stand down. He is only hurting the GOP's chances of keeping this seat next year.
So why is "Been Around" on OC Blog angry at the "democrat lawyers"? Well, it looks like those "democrat lawyers who work for Fabian Nunez and Don Perata" have just contradicted Judge Brenner's ruling in favor of Janet Nguyen by opining that the County Registrar was required to use a voter verified paper trail (VVPAT) in conducting the full recount. So have these "democrat lawyers" now given new life to Trung's insane effort to overturn the election results? Follow me after the flip for more...
(Hooray, more video from yesterday! Jubal/Matt Cunningham now has VIDEO of the Judge's decision, along with VIDEO of Janet Nguyen's press conference, over at OC Blog. : ) - promoted by atdleft)
Ah, finally! No need to revise the agenda...
Janet Nguyen really will be sworn in today as the newest OC Supervisor. The wait is over... It's just too bad that the drama may not be over quite yet. (From OC Register)
Janet Nguyen will be sworn in tomorrow at the weekly Board of Supervisors meeting. Trung Nguyen ducked the many reporters at the courthouse, but his lawyer, Michael Schroeder, said he expected to file an appeal of the judge's decision.
"The judge's ruling was not a surprise," Schroeder said. "We have to take a look at the judge's ruling but I anticipate we will file an appeal."
Janet Nguyen, 30, now becomes the first Asian-American and the youngest ever to sit on the board. She told reporters she was excited, honored and relieved.
"I'm ready - I've been ready - to represent the people of the First District," she said.
Trung Nguyen refused to concede the election and didn't congratulate Janet Nguyen, who left the courthouse and promptly walked over to the county Hall of Administration. There, she was congratulated by Supervisors John Moorlach, Chris Norby and Pat Bates.
"She'll be voting tomorrow," Norby said.
Ah, if only Darth Schroeder, Lord Van Tran, and their loyal lackey Trung can just GIVE IT UP, and LET JANET SERVE FOR GAWD SAKE!! But whatever, they'll likely lose again with the appeal. I'm just relieved that this whole damn thing is coming to a close, whether they like it or not.
Republican Councilwoman Janet Nguyen of Garden Grove won the February 6th - Special Election for the 1st Supervisorial District Vacancy. The seat was previously held by Democrat Lou Correa.
Nguyen will join Republicans John Moorlach, Bill Campbell, Chris Norby and Pat Bates on the Board of Supervisors thus creating an all-Republican governing board not seen in Orange County since 2004. Nguyen also becomes the first elected Vietnamese-American Supervisor in Orange County history.
"On behalf of the Republican Party of Orange County, I would like to congratulate Supervisor-Elect Nguyen in her hard-fought victory," said County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh. "I commend the hard work of all Republican candidates that worked night and day to increase Republican registration and turnout."
"Our member communication efforts during this special election played a critical role in the effort to elect a Republican Supervisor. This Supervisorial win will help continue our positive trend in Central Orange County," said Chairman Baugh.
OK, so I guess now that Trung's done, the GOPers are getting back into good terms with Janet. I guess we'll see if all those nasty wounds will begin to heal.
So what exactly is The New Majority? What is their role in the Republican Party, and why have they suddenly gained so much power after losing an attempt to take over the Orange County GOP in 2000? What the heck does Arnold have to do with all of this? And why did they try to disenfranchise a few hundred Democrats and Independent voters last year? Follow me after the flip for more on this sordid tale of "business-minded Republicans" desperately searching for a place (and a few politicians) to call their own...
I've been checking votes this afternoon and I've already got two no's on swearing in Janet Nguyen tomorrow as the First District supe. Both Bill Campbell and John Moorlach said they will respect what Judge Michael Brenner said this morning and hold off on declaring a winner. [...]
But even if it's a 2-2 vote on seating Janet, the motion fails and she won't be sworn in tomorrow. Both Campbell and Moorlach said they will wait until after the trial is concluded, which should be Friday, March 23. So there may not be a supe-declared First Distrct winner until Tuesday, March 27.
Tomorrow morning, the other four Orange County Supervisors will have a daunting task in front of them: To decide whether or not to seat Janet Nguyen as their new colleague on the Board. Today, the judge presiding over Trung Nguyen's legal maneuver to overturn the results of the recount made his voice heard on the matter of whether or not to seat Janet. (From The Register'sTotal Buzz)
An Orange County judge today asked the county board of supervisors today to refrain from swearing in Janet Nguyen as the First District Supervisor until he has had the chance to review the contested election results.
But Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner declined to issue a court order banning the seating of Janet Nguyen - who was certified as a 7-vote winner in a recount of the special Feb. 6 election to replace former Supervisor Lou Correa.
At the same time, however, Janet's political team is lobbying hard to get the Board of Supes to recognize the official results of last month's election by seating Janet. And since they are confident that the judge will probably not overturn the election results, they are ready to see Janet be sworn in ASAP. One of her consultants, Adam Probolsky, is trying to make that case on OC Blog today.
Janet ran, she won and she is ready to serve. No other supervisor waffled when they were about to take their seat at the county about giving up their previous position. Its the risk you take...Janet is ready to take her seat.
For the sake of the voters and for the sake of fair elections I hope the supervisors do their job: 1) receive and file, 2) declare and 3) let Janet have a moment for the ceremonial swearing-in and then get on with the business of the county.
An Orange County judge is expected to set a date for a trial, which should start within 10 days, to decide the contested election for the 1st District seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Judge Michael Brenner today told attorneys for candidates Janet Nguyen and Trung Nguyen to return to his court Monday to select a firm date for the trial.
Brenner also ordered county Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley to provide evidence of 200 contested ballots to both sides, said attorney Steve Baric, who represents Trung Nguyen, said.
So on Monday, we should find out when the trial of the special electionrecount will actually begin...
And my goodness, will all of us in OC be SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS DAMN MELODRAMA END SOON! But in the meantime, stay tuned for more as the legal melodrama continues...
Here are some wild and wonderful stories from behind the Orange Curtain, and across the Land of the OC, that will make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head in total disbelief:
- Flip-flop Romney! So you still don't believe me when I tell you that Mitt Romney is not a "true believing" conservative? Then go over to The Liberal OC, and see what Dan has to say about our favorite GOP Presidential contender!
- Do the other four OC Supes want to "cut and run" from Santa Ana? Art Pedroza is now worried that a couple OC Supervisors are seriously considering moving the county seat from Santa Ana to Irvine. And what would happen to the Santa Ana Civic Center, where the county operates presently? Go see Orange Juice for more.
- Overheated and Absurd? Unfortunately, my friend Jubal/Matt Cunningham at OC Blog would rather dismiss all of us as hotheads than to discuss the real problems of the 241 Extension to Trestles. So am I being "overheated and absurd" by presenting some disturbing facts about how the 241 Extension to Trestles wouldn't ease South County traffic even as it destroys one of the last pristine beaches in SoCal?
Here are some wild and wonderful stories from behind the Orange Curtain, and direct from our friends at the Orange County GOP, that will make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head in total disbelief:
- "I Think I Can!" Yes, Trung Nguyen really thinks he "Can" Nguyen win this election, so much so that he's having his friend Can Nguyen file a lawsuit to overturn Janet Nguyen's win in the special election. Don't believe me? Well, go over and see Chris Prevatt's latest piece in The Liberal OC!
- Yes, Van Tran Can! Still, I wonder just how much of this "strategery" is really Trung's, and how much he is relying on Darth Schroeder and Lord Van Tran. Wait, are you wondering about that, too? OK, so let's both pay a visit to Art Pedroza at Orange Juice, where he's answering all our deepest and darkest questions about the Great Darth and Lord Van.
- No, you can't (smoke, that is)! In today's Register, I noticed that Irvine is now moving to ban smoking in all its parks...
Including the soon-to-be-opened Great Park! Good for them, as this will make it easier for them to keep those parks as lovely and clean and oh so inviting as ever. : )
- "What Can We Do About Janet?" That's what our other four lovely supes were asking themselves yesterday... And yes, Jubal/Matt Cunningham has all the video from yesterday's OC Board of Supes meeting at OC Blog.
