Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Judge Denies Voter’s Request To Halt Santa Ana Recall Election
The Orange County Registrar of Voters administers elections of behalf of cities when requested.
(
Libby Denkman
/
LAist
)
An Orange County Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied a voter's request to halt a controversial recall election against a Santa Ana city council member.
The integrity of the election on whether to oust Councilmember Jessie Lopez first came under legal scrutiny when Orange County Registrar Bob Page alerted the city in late October to what he said was an error in the district boundaries used to define the recall.
State law requires that, in the case of a local recall election, ballots go to voters within the district boundaries as they existed when the official was elected. Santa Ana, like many cities in California, went through redistricting after the 2020 Census and the boundaries of the city's Ward 3, represented by Lopez, shifted while she was in office.
But the city used, and the registrar accepted, the district's current boundaries and population size to determine the number of signatures needed to trigger an election and who should get to vote.
Support for LAist comes from
As a result, nearly 1,200 voters who should be able to vote in the Nov. 14 election did not get ballots, according to Page.
How the recall landed in court
One of those voters, Guadalupe Ocampo, filed a legal complaint last Friday alleging she was “deprived of her right to vote in the election." Ocampo asked for an immediate injunction of the recall election.
But O.C. Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin denied the request Tuesday during a hearing in Santa Ana and scheduled another court date for January 2024.
Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez was elected in 2020 to represent the city's Ward 3.
(
City of Santa Ana
)
Tim Rush, who chairs the recall campaign against Lopez, said his group followed what they thought was the law. "We did exactly as we were told by the election official," he said.
Support for LAist comes from
In this case, the election official is the Santa Ana city clerk. The registrar's office is administering the election on behalf of the city.
In an email to LAist, Lopez said she was “disappointed that our judicial system is allowing this illegitimate recall — and with it the disenfranchisement of more than 1,100 voters who are overwhelmingly Latino, renters, and mobile home residents — to move forward."
Lopez told LAist she is encouraging residents who didn't get a ballot but were part of her district when she was elected to ask for a provisional ballot.
Learn more about the legal debate
-
- LAist spoke with six outside election experts to get their opinions on the Santa Ana recall snafu, two of them county registrars of voters. Read more here.
What this means for Santa Ana voters
Page, the registrar, told LAist in an email Tuesday that the election will proceed as planned given the judge's decision and the fact that "we have still not received new City direction."
In a special meeting last week, the Santa Ana City Council deadlocked 3-3 on whether to cancel the election. (Lopez recused herself.) One council member said they want a judge to make the call.
Support for LAist comes from
Voters can still participate in the election — vote centers are open through Nov. 14.
Updated November 8, 2023 at 9:45 AM PST
This story was updated with comments from Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
-
Hexavalent chromium is the same carcinogen Erin Brockovich warned about in the 1990s, but researchers say more study is needed on the potential health effects of nanoparticles detected earlier this year. Experts will answer questions at a webinar this evening.
Best of LAist