Recount Will Not Change Sanchez Election Victory

An exhaustive and costly recount of votes requested by defeated U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) failed to uncover any major irregularities and will not affect the victory of Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever said Friday.

Dornan picked up five additional votes after more than 160,000 ballots were recounted, but Lever said the official tally, certified last month, will stand because the results of the race did not change. Sanchez officially won the contest by 984 votes.

“There were no surprises,” said Lever. “We’re comfortable with the [electoral] process in Orange County.”

The recount cost Dornan, a nine-term congressman who was known for his outspoken conservative views, more than $10,000, according to his attorneys.

Since he lost, Dornan has charged that the election was tainted by fraud, that noncitizens voted and that absentee ballots were delivered in bulk in Latino neighborhoods. However, no evidence of such fraud turned up in the recount.

“The recount was a waste of time,” said Fredric D. Woocher, an attorney for Sanchez who observed the process. “They pored through every ballot that was counted, they had an opportunity to look at every roster, and they haven’t found a thing.”

No Dornan supporters or staff members were at the registrar’s office when the final results were announced, and the congressman could not be reached for comment. However, he and his attorneys said earlier they might take their allegations to court, the next available recourse.

Dornan attorney Bill Hart has said a court challenge could cost $100,000 to $150,000. Dornan has sent mailers to past supporters to raise money for his recount fund.

The deadline for filing a challenge in Superior Court is Thursday. To prevail, Dornan’s attorneys would have to prove that enough irregularities or fraud occurred to affect the outcome of the election--a difficult prospect with a 984-vote deficit, Woocher said.

“This would be nothing more than for Dornan to continue raising money and maintain his political profile,” said Sanchez campaign manager John Shallman at the registrar’s office. “He wants to keep his options open.”

However, Michael Schroeder, an attorney for Dornan and a state Republican Party official, said earlier this week that Dornan supporters had found “substantial” irregularities and planned to pursue them.

Dornan’s final option would be to appeal to the House of Representatives to overturn the election results. In order to keep that option alive, he would have to file a complaint with the House this month, Woocher said.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi and California Secretary of State Bill Jones have opened investigations in response to charges raised by Dornan, but they have not revealed the nature of the investigations.

Sanchez, who will be sworn into office Jan. 7, was not available for comment Friday afternoon, but her office distributed a press release headlined “Sanchez Defeats Dornan . . . Again”--in which she thanked supporters and asked for Dornan’s cooperation in the transition.

“The people of the district have spoken,” she said. “It is time for Mr. Dornan to accept the will of the people and move on.”

Sanchez, who has said she will spend half her time in the district and half in Washington, said she plans to announce her staff appointments and several policy initiatives over the next two weeks.

In her statement, Sanchez said she has “received thousands of letters, cards and phone calls from people thanking me for winning,” including some Dornan supporters. “No matter who you voted for, I am your congressperson.

“I did not run to be the Democratic representative. I did not run to be the woman representative. I did not run to be the Latino representative. I ran to be a congressperson for everyone,” she said.