Voter Registration in 43rd Assembly Race Examined

An inquiry into possible voter registration irregularities allegedly engineered by state Assembly candidate Paul Krekorian’s campaign has been referred to prosecutors, county officials said Monday, and Krekorian’s opponent in the race for the 43rd Assembly District seat has been quick to cry fraud.

With just two weeks left before the June 6 primary, candidate Frank Quintero’s attorneys sent a letter to the registrar of voters Monday demanding swift action against Krekorian. “We have every faith that the D.A.’s public integrity unit will prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law,” said Phil Giarrizzo, Quintero’s campaign consultant.

But Krekorian’s campaign was just as quick to dismiss the affair as the losing side’s effort to get a political boost from normal glitches in applications sent in by inexperienced voters. Zealous efforts by the Krekorian campaign to register these new voters is what is behind the fracas, said Eric Hacopian, Krekorian’s campaign consultant.

“I know what they want,” Hacopian said, referring to Quintero’s camp. “They want a headline in the L.A. Times so they can send out a flier in three days that says, ‘Krekorian investigated for vote fraud.’ ”

Quintero’s campaign won’t be the one to suffer if the absentee ballots being questioned aren’t approved, Hacopian added. “Our voters are the ones being disenfranchised,” he said.

Senior Deputy County Counsel Judy Whitehurst confirmed Monday that a review of questionable absentee ballot applications had been referred to the district attorney’s office by the county registrar, and that county officials are awaiting the D.A.’s determination on whether to investigate the matter.

“These are just allegations until they are thoroughly investigated,” she said.

At issue is an unknown number of absentee ballot applications with signatures that appeared not to match those of registered voters. County officials have sent letters to some voters trying to confirm whether the ballot applications are valid, Whitehurst said.

The largely Democratic district includes Glendale and surrounding areas.

Krekorian and Quintero are vying in the Democratic primary to replace Dario Frommer.