League Probes Carmel Voter Registration

The League of Women Voters is looking into allegations of fraudulent voter registration for the April 8 mayoral election in which actor Clint Eastwood is a candidate.

Lorita Fisher, president of the Monterey Peninsula league chapter, said Tuesday it decided to look into the charges because of numerous requests by longtime residents.

“We’ve received enough calls to do some checking,” Fisher said, adding that she personally became suspicious when people who own summer homes in the picturesque seaside community started asking for voter registration information.

Fisher said there is unusual interest in this year’s mayoral race because of Eastwood’s challenge of Mayor Charlotte Townsend. But she declined to say whether his presence on the ticket had any connection with the increased registration.

Fisher said the league’s initial investigation will concern only the business district. Expanding the probe to the residential area might take two weeks to verify who is eligible to vote, she said.

“We’ll have to check every registration against previous registrations to see if the new people are legitimate,” Fisher said. “That could take two weeks or more. We are a small group and this is a big undertaking.”

While Eastwood, who owns a popular bar-restaurant in town, is aligned with the merchants, Fisher said the league’s investigation is not aimed at any particular candidate.