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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (14353)	11/5/2006 5:48:09 PM
From: Mr. Palau	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

"Orange County charges 11 with phony voter registration Associated Press SANTA ANA, Calif. - Eleven people who were paid as much as $10 for each voter they registered in a Republican recruiting drive targeting central Orange County were charged with fraud. Fraudulent voter registration charges were filed this week by prosecutors who said Democrats were unwittingly signed up as Republicans. Central Orange County includes the district represented by Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez. There were at least 37 instances in which Democratic, Green Party voters and a noncitizen were registered as Republicans. Each defendant was charged with felony counts of fraudulent completion of registration affidavits. No charges were filed against the companies or executives hired by the Republican Party to conduct the registration drive. County GOP chairman Scott Baugh said he got complaints from people who received letters welcoming them to the Republican Party. Registration workers were fired for being too aggressive or submitting faulty paperwork, he said. The recruiters worked for the Newport Beach petition circulating firm Bader & Associates as well as a subcontractor. Company owner Tom Bader said Thursday that his firm cooperated in the investigation. Subcontractor John Burkett of Lake Elsinore said he discovered problems with his recruiters' work during random checks of submitted forms and he notified his clients. The 11 defendants charged Tuesday weren't identified and details of the charges weren't disclosed by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. "The only thing I can say is it is our policy to not make comments on pending matters, and I don't have any information to share at this time," Rackauckas spokeswoman Susan Kang Schroeder said. News of the charges was apparently leaked early by Frank Barbaro, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party. The Los Angeles Times said Rackauckas and state Secretary of State Bruce McPherson apparently planned to announce the charges and arrests during a news conference Monday. McPherson's office referred callers Friday to spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen, who didn't return repeated telephone calls. In a statement Thursday, Barbaro congratulated Rackauckas. "Hopefully, these arrests are a good first step toward discouraging those who would wish to suppress the democratic process, and we are hopeful that more pre-emptive action will be taken in the future," Barbaro said.