Several people have been arrested and charged with rigging elections for Democrats in California, according to reports.
Democrat Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan is among six people who have been charged with election fraud in Los Angeles county.
Galvan and former Compton City Council candidate Jace Dawson, another Democrat, worked together on a voter fraud scam to help Galvan retain his District 2 seat, according to a statement from Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon.
Galvan had previously run, unsuccessfully, for the California State Senate District 35 in 2016.
In his latest race, however, he unexpectedly won the city councilman spot against challenger Andre Spicer by a single vote: 855 to 854.
Dawson is charged with bribing a registrar employee who was counting ballots on election night.
“While we do not have all of the details regarding the charges brought against Councilman Galvan, the City takes any charges of elections fraud extremely seriously,” Compton Mayor Emma Sharif said.
According to a report by CBS Los Angeles, “Four others were also charged in the case – 34-year-old Toni Morris, 48-year-old Kimberly Chaouch, 61-year-old Barry Reed, and 51-year-old Reginald Streeter all allegedly registered to vote at Dawson’s address in Compton, even though they didn’t live there.“
“All four are charged with voting illegally in the election.”
Both Galvan and Dawson have pleaded not guilty to the election fraud charges.
The four others charged will be arraigned at a later date.
The full statement from Gascon’s office is below:
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan and five others were charged today for obtaining fraudulent votes in a June runoff that ultimately was decided by one vote.
“Elections are the cornerstone of our democratic nation. We must do everything in our power to protect the integrity of the electorate process and to ensure that elections are free and fair,” District Attorney Gascón said.
“The people of Los Angeles County expect and deserve a government that is free of political corruption at every level.”
Galvan (dob 2/14/87), Jace Dawson (dob 3/30/87), Kimberly Chaouch (dob 11/20/72), Toni Morris (dob 3/10/87), Barry Reed (dob 8/21/59) and Reginald Streeter (dob 7/16/70) were charged in case BA497713 with conspiracy to commit election fraud.
Galvan also faces one count of attempted bribery with intent to influence an election.Galvan and Dawson are scheduled to be arraigned today in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
The remaining defendants will be arraigned at a later date.According to the criminal complaint, Galvan and Dawson, a former candidate for the Compton City Council, worked together to secure votes to ensure Galvan would retain his District 2 seat.
Chaouch, Morris, Reed and Streeter were allegedly registered to vote at Dawson’s address in Compton, even though they didn’t live there.
All four are charged with voting illegally in the election.
Galvan won the election over challenger, Andre Spicer, 855 to 854.
Galvan also is accused of trying to bribe a registrar employee as she was counting ballots on election night.
The case remains under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office.
The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office for its assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this case.