Election Hearing’s Agenda Is Open to Inquiry

SANTA ANA —  A week before a scheduled hearing into the contested election in the 46th Congressional District, a few details about the session remain unclear:

The format.

The agenda.

Whether the public can speak.

Exactly who will appear before the committee to make presentations.

Whether U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), whose election victory is being fought, will even attend.

About all that is known is that hearing is to begin about 8:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana, said a spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee. The 46th District Election Task Force, a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, has been assigned to look into the challenge filed by Republican Robert K. Dornan in the wake of his election loss to Sanchez last November.

“Congresswoman Sanchez has been told nothing informally or formally about what will be done on the day of the hearings,” and does not know if she will attend, said Steve Jost, her chief of staff.

Dornan’s side also is apparently in the dark.

“I think we will have an opportunity to make a presentation with some time limit and the other side will as well,” said Dornan lawyer Bill Hart. “The planning is very fluid.”

Dornan “absolutely is going” to attend, said Hart, adding he did not know if the former congressman would speak.

Cathy Abernathy, chief of staff to Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield), who chairs the Oversight Committee, said late Friday that an agenda will be available Monday morning.

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County officials say that those who do not fit in the 180-seat supervisors’ chambers would be able to watch on television in an overflow room that seats another 120 or so.

Of the three most likely speakers--Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, Secretary of State Bill Jones and Registrar Rosalyn Lever--only Capizzi and Lever have received telephoned invitations to speak. None, however, had received any written confirmation nor details about the session.

Lever’s office was told Friday that she would be asked to participate in a “witness panel” and Capizzi said his office was contacted several weeks ago.

Rob Lapsley, undersecretary of state, said Jones is planning to attend but has had “no contact” to confirm the hearing date in at least a month.

“I thought they were discussing whether or not it would be the 19th and pending that, would send out a letter by fax,” he said. “If they change it, we will be there. We are there either way.”

Jones’ office disclosed this week that 303 “unlawful” votes were cast in the race by people registered to vote on affidavits supplied by a Latino civil rights organization, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional.

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The district attorney and secretary of state are conducting a joint investigation into allegations that noncitizens registered illegally to vote in 1996 in Orange County, though some later became citizens before they cast ballots.

At the heart of Dornan’s effort to have Sanchez’s election overturned is his allegation that noncitizens voted in the race.

Jones is expected to testify about the investigation, voter fraud, California election law, and cooperation between his office and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is assisting his office in conducting a computer comparison of all 1.3 million registered voters in the county. That review may determine whether registration by noncitizens extended beyond those allegedly signed up with the aid of Hermandad.

Because of the continuing investigation into voter fraud in the county, Capizzi said he has “some real constraints about what” he can say. “I won’t talk about the investigation other than that which is already public record,” he said. “I could refer to those things, but it is now historical stuff.”

In addition to space within the Hall of Administration, Diane Thomas, manager of community and media relations for the county, said there would be loudspeakers set up outdoors. The building has been reserved until 6:30 p.m., she said, at a cost of $1,000.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will handle security, with assistance from the Santa Ana police, if necessary, said Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson. He declined to disclose what amount Congress will be charged for that service.

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The task force has been unable to release an agenda because its three members--two Republicans and one Democrat--have been unable to agree to its format.

Oversight Committee chair Thomas “is insisting that [the three-member Task Force] hammer out the agreement in secret before they tell any of the parties,” Jost said. “We don’t even know if we are going to be permitted to call witnesses and how much time we will be given for a presentation or who else is talking.”

Hart said he expected it “would be the first of a number of hearings. There is a lot of material we need to gather to demonstrate the extent of the problem here in the 46th.”

On Friday, Sanchez refused to appear at a deposition at Hart’s office. She had been subpoenaed a month ago but has decided, along with several other organizations and individuals, to ignore the subpoenas, arguing they are unconstitutional.

“Congresswoman Sanchez has made it clear neither she nor her campaign participated in the alleged voter irregularities so there can be no purpose for the deposition but harassment,” said Wylie Aitken, her attorney and campaign chairman.