A city councilman in suburban Los Angeles and five other people were charged for securing fraudulent votes in a runoff election that was ultimately decided by a single vote, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan, 34, was arrested and arraigned Friday, facing one count of conspiracy to commit election fraud and one count of attempted bribery with intent to influence an election.
Jace Dawson, a 34-year-old former city council candidate; Kimberly Chaouch, 48; Toni Morris, 34; Barry Reed, 61; and Reginald Streeter, 51, were also charged with conspiracy to commit election fraud, prosecutors announced.
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The group is accused of perpetrating an alleged conspiracy that prosecutors said led to Galvan’s 855-854 victory over challenger Andre Spicer in June. The scheme involved Chaouch, Morris, Reed, and Streeter registering to vote at Dawson’s Compton address within the city’s District 2 despite living elsewhere, according to the complaint.
“Elections are the cornerstone of our democratic nation. We must do everything in our power to protect the integrity of the electorate process and to ensure that elections are free and fair,” District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement Friday. “The people of Los Angeles County expect and deserve a government that is free of political corruption at every level.”
In addition to the fraudulent voting scheme, prosecutors allege that Galvan also tried to bribe a registrar employee on election night as she was counting ballots.
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Both Galvan and Dawson pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday, according to KTLA. Prosecutors said the other four defendants will be arraigned at a later date.
Galvan did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
