House Panel to Investigate Disputed Election Victory : Politics: Rep. Harman asks for dismissal of challenge to her by GOP’s Susan Brooks, saying there is no evidence of fraud.

A House committee formed a task force Wednesday to investigate a challenge to the election of Rep. Jane Harman (D-Rolling Hills), who turned a 93-vote election night deficit into an 812-vote victory after absentee ballots were counted.

Republican Susan M. Brooks, a Rancho Palos Verdes City Council member who lost the election, filed a protest over the outcome last month, claiming vote fraud. But Harman on Wednesday responded by filing a motion to dismiss the challenge, citing numerous procedural flaws.

“I am totally confident that our legal brief is airtight,” said Harman. “The challenge should be thrown out on procedural grounds. But on its merits, there is absolutely nothing there.”

The motion contends that neither Brooks “nor anyone else” has offered any evidence pointing toward election fraud. Harman also charged that Brooks waited too long to file her challenge and did not use all state and local procedures for challenging an election.

Last month, Brooks said an independent voter fraud task force had found “massive . . . errors, as well as illegal and fraudulent votes” and called on the House to call a special election “to determine the real choice among the district’s qualified voters.”

The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield), also organized two other three-member task forces to look into disputed elections in Connecticut, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

Thomas, chairing his second full committee meeting since the Republican takeover of Congress, vowed to follow “the letter and spirit” of the Federal Contested Election Law, which governs investigations of disputed House elections. But he also lectured the minority Democrats about the outcome of the last disputed election settled by the House.

In 1984, Republican Richard D. McIntyre was certified the winner in Indiana’s 8th District. But House Democrats, citing some questionable ballots, refused to seat him.

In April, 1985, a similar task force--on which Thomas sat as the lone Republican--voted along party lines to seat McIntyre’s Democratic opponent. When the full House followed suit, the Republicans marched out of the House in protest.

Shortly after the November elections, Thomas said, “We will not duplicate the Democrats’ way of stealing seats.”

And on Tuesday, he reiterated that policy: “It is the goal of this majority to be more responsible . . . you’re in good hands.”