Councilman Isaac Galvan of Compton, as well as five more people, have been charged with election fraud.
A press release issued by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon reveals that Galvan and former Compton City Council candidate Jace Dawson allegedly cooperated to secure Galvan’s District 2 seat.
Galvan, who was not able to win California State Senate District 35 as a Democrat back in 2016, succeeded in becoming a city councilman following a close election battle with Andre Spicer, who lost to Galvan by just one vote: 855 to 854.
Dawson has been charged with trying to bribe a registrar employee on the night of the election as the person in question was counting the ballots.
Compton Mayor Emma Sharif said the following:
“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.”
New: Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan was arrested Friday morning and charged with conspiring to rig votes to secure his victory in an election he won earlier this year by just one ballot, officials said.https://t.co/sLWxGrGcyZ
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 13, 2021
According to CBS LA:
“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.”
Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan, 5 Others Charged With Election Fraud https://t.co/T8GUpeYp6s
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) August 14, 2021
The two accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are set for a court date in September.
The other four will be arraigned later on, as per the District Attorney’s Office.
The statement from Gascon’s office reads:
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.
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