Latinos Accuse Dornan of Intimidation

Latinos lashed out at lame duck Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) here Wednesday, contending that his repeated charges of voter fraud in the Nov. 5 election amount to harassment and intimidation.

Meanwhile, Dornan’s attorney, Michael Schroeder, said he had “substantial evidence” of irregularities, which he would produce “in the timetable we believe is appropriate.”

Dornan, who was defeated by Democrat Loretta Sanchez by 984 votes, has alleged fraud from the day he lost. His contentions have included voting by noncitizens, mishandling of absentee ballots and tampering with ballot boxes.

The 18-year Orange County congressman has launched his own investigation of the election, sending volunteers into Latino neighborhoods to knock on doors and seek out proof of voting irregularities.

At a news conference following a weekly gathering of Latino community leaders at a restaurant here, several activists called on Dornan to prove his claims or stop his allegations. They also said they had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Dornan for possible voter intimidation.

“We have a tremendous number of naturalized citizens voting for the first time,” said John Palacio of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “This [door-to-door questioning] has a chilling effect because many of these individuals came from police states. It may discourage them from voting in the future.”

About 40 Latino community members who were gathered in the restaurant cheered and clapped after each point was made, and seemed relieved that activists were speaking up.

“We kind of let it go the last few weeks because we thought it was an election thing that would blow over, but it hasn’t,” said Juan Garcia of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a civil rights organization that mounted registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. “I don’t know what his motivation is, but it sure is harming the community and we’re here to say that’s enough.”

Schroeder dismissed the complaints of harassment as a tactic to divert attention from the investigation.

“They have no evidence whatsoever that anyone’s been harassed, because no one has been,” Schroeder said. “This is a systematic and responsible investigation.”

The Latino leaders, however, dismissed Dornan’s investigation as a “fishing expedition,” and said any possible election day irregularities could be attributed to mistakes made by first-time voters.

“This defeated candidate is ready to insult the integrity of every loyal foreign-born American rather than concede,” said Amin David, who organizes the weekly gatherings under the name Los Amigos. “This is nothing more than a desperate scream.”

The Latino leaders were particularly upset with the two days of door knocking by Dornan volunteers, who targeted Spanish-speaking voters. Garcia, of Hermandad, urged residents not to cooperate if contacted by representatives of Dornan, and to call Latino rights organizations such as his instead.