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Congresswoman Waters Calls for Investigation of Voter Fraud in Inglewood

July 15, 2009

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) announced that she has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to initiate a federal investigation by the Department of Justice into allegations of voter fraud in Inglewood, California.  Inglewood Mayor Roosevelt Dorn informed the Congresswoman of suspicious activity involving unsigned absentee ballot requests that were delivered to his office.

A copy of the letter that Congresswoman Waters sent to the Attorney General appears below.

April 1, 2008

The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

I am writing today regarding allegations of voter fraud in Inglewood, California.  It is my understanding that some of these allegations have been raised previously with officials of Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State, but to date, no one has been charged or indicted. Unfortunately, allegations and accusations relating to elections in Inglewood have persisted over the years. However, I just learned from the Mayor of Inglewood, the Honorable Roosevelt Dorn, of a particular situation that seems to clearly constitute voter fraud and therefore now seek your immediate assistance.

According to Mayor Dorn, the United States Post Office recently delivered two packages to the Mayor's office. The first contained 176 absentee ballot requests, and the following day, another package contained 4 absentee ballot requests; none of the absentee ballot requests were signed and none had postage stamps for them to be delivered.   When the Mayor opened the package and discovered the absentee ballot requests, he suspected that something inappropriate may have occurred, so he made copies of each absentee ballot request.   The Mayor investigated the absentee ballot requests by arranging visits and calls to the voters whose names were listed, and he learned that none of those listed had requested an absentee ballot. 

It appears that the Mayor has uncovered a scheme where certain individuals request absentee ballots through the unauthorized use of voter names.  The absentee ballot requests are mailed out as if they will be used by the named voters but are instead held by certain individuals until election night when the absentee ballots are then cast by unauthorized individuals.   This type of scheme would finally explain a number of unexpectedly close elections.

Mr. Attorney General, I believe this matter must be investigated at the federal level to determine the extent of this scheme and to end it as expeditiously as possible.  If, as it appears, the voting rights of my constituents have been violated, then the perpetrators should be prosecuted and punished to full extent of the law.   No voter should ever have to wonder if the ballot box has been tampered with or if their vote has been miscounted. 

Thank you in advance for your prompt and thorough attention to this matter.
      
                                                    Sincerely,
                                                    Maxine Waters
                                                    Member of Congress