Thread: Latino-rights activist Nativo Lopez charged with voter fraud

Latino-rights activist Nativo Lopez charged with voter fraud

June 25th, 2009, 10:34 am ·
by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter

(Three updates appear at the bottom of this item.)

Longtime Latino rights activist and former Santa Ana school board chairman Nativo Lopez has been charged with four felony counts of voter fraud and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, according to this announcement by Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Bowen’s office worked in collaboration with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, which has charged Lopez with fraudulent voter registration, fraudulent document filing, perjury and fraudulent voting.

The charges stem from Lopez allegedly registering to vote using an office address in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles although he lived with his family in Orange County, according to Bowen’s office. He also allegedly cast an illegal ballot from Los Angeles in the 2008 presidential primary.

Lopez is national president of Mexican American Political Association and national director of Hermandad Mexican Latinoamericana, both of which are advocates for immigrant rights. In 1996, he attracted controversy for registering new citizens in the congressional district where Democrat Loretta Sanchez upset incumbent Bob Dornan.

A congressional investigation later found that some voters had cast ballots before their citizenship was finalized. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office investigated allegations that Lopez’s primary organization, then known as Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, was responsible for the improper registrations but no charges were filed.

Bail has been set at $10,000 for Lopez. I’ve got calls in to Lopez and will also find out whether he’s been picked up yet. I’ll update this item when I have more information.

UPDATE 1: The Orange County Registrar of Voters office tells me that Lopez was registered to vote in Santa Ana until Jan. 23, 2008, when he asked that his registration be canceled.

UPDATE 2: The Secretary of State’s Office received a tip on this, investigated, then gave its information to the L.A. County DA’s office, which filed charges, according to Nicole Winger of the Secretary of State’s Office. She also said that she’d heard the Lopez had turned himself him. I should be able to confirm that shortly.

UPDATE 3: Lopez served on the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Trustees from 1997 until 2003, when 69 percent of voters casting ballots agreed that he should be recalled.

http://totalbuzz.freedomblogging.com/20 ... aud/18205/

This doesn't surprise me one bit! Next stop, Chicago!

UPDATE 4: Lopez surrendered to authorities on Thursday and was released on his own recognizance, according to Sandi Gibbons of the the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. While the secretary of state’s press release said that bail had been set at $10,000 - when in fact Lopez was released without posting any bail - Gibbons said her office had been seeking $55,000 bail. Lopez’s arraignment - when he declares himself guilty or not guilty is set for July 8 in Dept. 30.

I'm compiling a list of advocacy groups that have been promoting lobbying by non-citizens or LPR's, some even outside of the US, to submit to the US attorney . This is another illuminating case showing that this is a population not to be trusted in their quest for political power.

June 25, 2009

Activist Nativo Lopez released, faces voter fraud charges

The former school board member faces felony charges for allegedly voting in L.A. while living here.

By MARTIN WISCKOL
The Orange County Register
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Longtime Latino rights activist and former Santa Ana school board chairman Nativo Lopez has been charged with four felony counts of voter fraud and has been released on his own recognizance pending trial.

The charges stem from Lopez allegedly registering to vote at a Los Angeles office address while continuing to live with his family in Orange County. He also allegedly cast an illegal ballot from Los Angeles in the 2008 presidential primary.

He faces charges of fraudulent voter registration, fraudulent document filing, perjury and fraudulent voting, according to Secretary of State Debra Bowen. The maximum penalty if convicted on all charges would be 3 years and 8 months in state prison.

Lopez said he was innocent but declined to discuss specifics of the case, including the question as to where he currently lives.

"The reason for all this will be revealed," he said. "But their allegations are baseless. There's obviously political piling on. When you're a public figure, you're subjected to this kind of thing."

Lopez is national president of Mexican American Political Association and national director of Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, both of which are advocates for immigrant rights. A controversial figure among both anti-illegal immigration activists and some community activists, Lopez was recalled in 2003 from his post as school board member after serving six years.

The charges against him were filed after Bowen’s office investigated a tip and turned the matter over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office to prosecute. The office where he was registered to vote was the Boyle Heights branch of Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, according to Bowen.

The Orange County Registrar of Voters said Lopez had been registered to vote in Santa Ana until January 2008, when he cancelled his Orange County registration.

Lopez surrendered to authorities on Wednesday. Superior Court Commissioner Alan Rubin granted Lopez's request to be released without posting bail.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office had been seeking bail of $55,000, said spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. Arraignment – when Lopez will state whether he is guilty or not guilty – was set for July 8.

In 1996, Lopez attracted controversy for registering new citizens in the congressional district where Democrat Loretta Sanchez upset incumbent Bob Dornan.

A congressional investigation later found that some voters had cast ballots before their citizenship was finalized. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office investigated allegations that Lopez’s primary organization, then known as Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, was responsible for the improper registrations but no charges were filed.

Lopez also ran into difficulties in 2002 over hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding received by Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, whose services included citizenship training and English lessons. Prosecutors alleged that Lopez had wrongly used the education grants to pay the mortgage on his headquarters in Santa Ana.

Hermandad Mexicana Nacional agreed to pay a $600,000 settlement, but did not admit wrongdoing.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lope ... ict-county