Voters Left in Limbo by Parties’ Goofs

Twin snafus by Republican and Democratic voter drives in crucial central Orange County races left about 260 residents in doubt about whether they are registered to vote in Tuesday’s election.

Both parties failed to turn in registration cards received before the Oct. 5 deadline for registering.

But attorneys working for Assembly Democrats obtained a Superior Court order Thursday requiring county officials to process the registrations of 163 Democrats whose cards were turned in late. Registrar Rosalyn Lever said all of the Democratic voters have been added to the roll by Friday.

However, about 100 other voter cards gathered by Republicans were rejected for the election. Those voters were in a second batch of cards received after the deadline--and they were significant for candidates who won slim victories in two 1996 races and face rematches on Tuesday’s ballot.

Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana) eked out a win over beat Democratic challenger Lou Correa two years ago by just 93 votes. At the same time, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) ousted incumbent congressman Robert K. Dornan by 984 votes.

One of the out-of-luck voters, Bonnie True-Hedges of Anaheim, said she was furious when she discovered after a call to the registrar’s office that she wasn’t signed up to vote. She still can vote, though, thanks to an old registration under her previous Fountain Valley address.

“I almost lost out on my right and privilege to vote through no fault of my own,” said True-Hedges, a Republican.

Assistant Registrar Don Taylor called the situation “unusual.”

“We usually have a handful of cards that, for one reason or another, come in late,” he said.

The voter cards arrived at the registrar’s office in a single envelope that was marked “postage due” and had no return address, Taylor said. Using coded numbers on the cards, officials traced them to longtime registration contractor Sam Clouder of Westminster, who took out cards in bulk.

Clouder said the cards were distributed to three of his associates to register Republicans for the campaign of state Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove). But he said he learned Wednesday that a fourth person, one working directly for the Hurtt campaign, also was distributing cards. Cards from both batches were in the late-arriving envelope, Clouder said.

Hurtt campaign manager Andy Gharkani said he was unaware of the problem until contacted Friday by a reporter. He said it was the circulators’ responsibility to turn the cards in to the registrar’s office. They were paid $3 for each verified GOP registration by the state party and another $3 by Hurtt’s campaign.

But two of the circulators reached Friday insisted that they did turn in cards on time to the registrar’s office and that they also gave cards directly to Hurtt’s campaign office.

“We turned all of our stuff in in a timely manner,” said Catherine Sabatino of Azusa, one of Clouder’s associates. “It was all going to Hurtt’s office, so there must be a mess-up somewhere.”

Clouder filed a complaint Friday with the registrar’s office asking for an investigation into how Hurtt’s office handled the registration cards.

State law requires registration affidavit cards to be given to the registrar’s office within 72 hours of being signed.

The late Democratic cards were brought in a few weeks ago by a woman working with the Assembly Democrats’ effort to register voters in Santa Ana, Anaheim and Garden Grove, Lever said. The woman said she found the cards in the group’s empty offices after the drive was over.

In winning a court order putting those voters on the roll, a lawyer for the Democrats argued that the voters were not at fault and should not be barred from voting because of the late delivery.

Registrar officials said that anyone already registered to vote under a previous registration still can vote in Tuesday’s election if a new card wasn’t received in time.

The voter would use a provisional ballot, which is counted after election officials confirm the registration. Voters can go to the proper polling place for their new address or to the registrar’s office. They must show proof of their new address.