CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : No Signs of Fraud in Cannella’s Election

A preliminary investigation failed to find any evidence of vote tampering in the Jan. 30 special election that gave a San Joaquin Valley Assembly seat to Sal Cannella (D-Modesto), the secretary of state’s office said. The investigation into the use of absentee ballots was requested by Karen Mathews, assistant voter registrar in Stanislaus County. Allegations of wrongdoing included using the names of deceased voters, coercion of voters by campaign workers, and voting at the polls by people who already had voted as absentees. Cannella, a former Stanislaus County supervisor, received more than 53% of the vote to defeat Dick Lang, extending a 27-year Democratic hold on the 27th District seat.