GOP Candidate for Congress Sends Intimidating Letter to Potential Immigrant Voters, page 1

Thousands of Orange County, CA Hispanics received letters this week warning them they could be imprisoned or deported if they try to vote next month. The letter told recipients in Spanish that immigrants are not allowed to vote. Immigrants who are naturalized citizens are eligible to vote. The state Attorney General's office is looking into the matter.

www.ocregister.com
The mailer, which warns immigrants that voting in a federal election is a crime, started arriving at homes across central Orange County this week.

Penalties for sending the mailer could be stiff. In addition to violating federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act, the state has enacted laws aimed at such tactics based on a widely publicized instance in Orange County in the late 1980s. The Republican Party hired uniformed security guards to stand outside polling stations; Democrats protested those actions, which included informing voters that noncitizens were ineligible to vote.

A state Attorney General's Office spokesman said violations under state law could be treated as felonies.

A state probe into who sent an intimidating mailer to foreign-born Hispanics in Orange County is focusing on Republican congressional candidate Tan D. Nguyen's campaign.

Nguyen, who is challenging Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, in November's election, did not return a call seeking comment.

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It is these kind of underhanded tactics that poison and polarize the political process in this country.

Campaigns need to focus on the issues, not on voter intimidation tactics.

Apparently, the candidate responsible for sending the letters had little chance of unseating his Democratic incumbent rival.