County G.O.P. Asks Candidate to Withdraw Over Letter Threat
CINDY CHANG
The New York Times
Oct 23, 2006
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19 — The Orange County Republican Party asked one of its Congressional candidates on Thursday to withdraw from the November election after a campaign worker from his office sent a letter threatening Hispanic voters with jail if they went to the polls.
The letter, which The Los Angeles Times reported was sent to about 14,000 voters in central Orange County last week, wrongly claimed that immigrants could be subject to criminal penalties if they voted in a federal election. Immigrants may vote only if they are naturalized citizens.
The letter also claimed that anti-immigration groups would be able to access a federal computer system containing the names of those who vote in October and November. No such database exists.
Despite Mr. Nguyen’s disavowing involvement with the letter, local Republican leaders said they thought he had played a direct role in it, said Adam Probolsky, a spokesman.
“The Republican Party of Orange County has asked Mr. Nguyen to resign his candidacy,” Mr. Probolsky said. “We condemn all voter intimidation, and Mr. Nguyen is not a welcome member of our party.”
Mr. Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant, is running an underdog campaign for the 47th Congressional District seat held by a five-term Democrat, Loretta Sanchez, a member of the House Hispanic Caucus. The district has a sizable Vietnamese and Hispanic population.
The Justice Department and the California attorney general are investigating the case. Bill Lockyer, the attorney general, said Wednesday on a local radio station, KPCC-FM, that the sender of the letter might have violated state laws against voter intimidation.
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