Guarding the Polls, Then and Now

You recently published that Democratic candidate for state treasurer, Phil Angelides, is raising 1988’s poll guard voter intimidation issue against his GOP opponent, Curt Pringle (“Democrats Seek to Present Pringle’s Past,” Oct. 18).

You fail to mention the rest of the story. It is so shameful even Pringle tries to disavow it, but more than reminders by campaign contenders keep alive the memory of this 10-year-old episode.

Thousands of Orange County polling place workers have been trained ever since to spot any repetition of this kind of attack on the right to vote.

The office of the Orange County registrar of voters will operate 1,646 polling places for Tuesday’s general election. Each will have an inspector and three clerks.

The 1,646 inspectors must attend, and the almost 4,000 clerks may attend, a training session. They are briefed on poll guard voter intimidation, including the infamous Orange County case.

On election day, each polling place inspector will have at hand a handbook for guidance on the conduct of balloting. Pages 2 and 3 spell out the potential problem of poll guard voter intimidation.

Because of what happened a decade ago and the hundreds of persons falsely accused of voter fraud without a successful prosecution in the last two years, there may be federal voting rights oversight of what happens in Orange County next Tuesday too.

AMIN DAVID, chair, Los Amigos of Orange County

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Re “U.S. May Order Poll Observers to 46th District,” Oct. 23:

Hooray. Although the possible move by the Feds is being painted as an attempt to prevent intimidation of Latinos, watch as Latinos fight the move because the reality is that the 46th and many other districts are now experiencing the watering down of citizens’ votes due to illegal aliens voting.

Even the appearance that our voting system is corrupt is likely to undermine our whole system of governance.

Dornan should be encouraging the poll watchers. In fact, he should pay for plane fare for Jimmy Carter to come out here and give the poll watchers some credibility and publicity.

H. MILLARD, Costa Mesa