Democratic Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan and five other people were arrested for conspiracy to commit election fraud in a June runoff election that was decided by one vote.
Galvan, 34, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit election fraud and one count of attempted bribery with intent to influence an election on Friday.
“While we do not have all of the details regarding the charges brought against Councilman Galvan, the City takes any charges of elections fraud extremely seriously,” Compton Mayor Emma Sharif said.
His five co-conspirators, Jace Dawson, 34; Kimberly Chaouch, 48; Toni Morris, 34; Barry Reed, 61; and Reginald Streeter, 51, were each charged with conspiracy to commit election fraud.
Galvan and Dawson, a former Compton City Council candidate, conspired to ensure that Galvan would retain his District 2 seat, while the other four people registered to vote through Dawson’s Compton address, though they did not live at the residence.
Galvan has also been accused of attempting to bribe a registrar employee on election night when she was counting ballots. The conspiracy clearly worked, as Galvan managed to retain his seat by defeating challenger Andre Spicer by a single ballot in an 855 to 854 vote.
Galvan and Dawson pleaded not guilty to the charges and will return to court on September 17, while the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said the other four people would be arraigned at a later time.
“Elections are the cornerstone of our democratic nation,” District Attorney George Gascon commented on the charges. “We must do everything in our power to protect the integrity of the electorate process and to ensure that elections are free and fair. The people of Los Angeles County expect and deserve a government that is free of political corruption at every level.”
