California Republican Campaign Investigated for Illegally Threatening Voters

Peter Prengaman for AP reports: A Republican congressional candidate said Thursday that he was not personally involved in sending a letter warning Hispanic immigrants they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a mailing that prompted a state investigation. "I did not do this. I did not approve of any letter," Tan D. Nguyen, the GOP challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (news, bio, voting record), told The Associated Press. The investigation is focused on Nguyen's campaign, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to publicly discuss it. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register also indicated the Nguyen's campaign was the target. Nguyen said he believed an employee in his office might have used his voter data base to send out the letter without his knowledge. He said that employee has been "discharged." The letter, written in Spanish and mailed last week to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in central Orange County, tells recipients: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time." In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can legally vote. It is illegal to threaten or intimidate voters, though, and the complaints about the letters that began surfacing this week prompted state and federal investigations.