Friday, September 01, 2006
GOP finds faked voter affidavits
By Kevin Yamamura -- Bee Capitol Bureau
Several GOP voter-registration workers created fake individuals in documents submitted to the California Republican Party, which said Thursday that it discovered the fraudulent activity through an internal review and forwarded its findings to Secretary of State Bruce McPherson.GOP spokesman Patrick Dorinson said the party caught the undisclosed number of falsified voter affidavits early enough that it avoided registering any fraudulent names with the state.
The documents were filed two weeks ago by an unnamed Southern California subcontractor hired by the party's principal registration vendor, California Grassroots Mobilization, according to Dorinson. The party has since fired the subcontractor, and Dorinson said California Grassroots Mobilization is working with the party to expose the fraudulent actions.
Dorinson would not name the subcontractor or the workers. Nor did he disclose how many fraudulent documents the party found because he said the matter is under investigation.
"We felt it was necessary to come forward because we're trying to maintain the integrity of our program," Dorinson said.
McPherson, a Republican, said in a statement he will conduct a full investigation, adding that "if credible evidence of wrongdoing is found, we will work with local prosecutors to vigorously prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."
