Voter Fraud Allegations in Little Armenia Under Review

The race for a Hollywood-area City Council seat grew increasingly acrimonious Friday, with the District Attorney's Office continuing to review allegations of voter fraud by one candidate, who responded with a legal demand for his opponent to stop making "false and defamatory statements."

District 13 candidate John Choi's complaint to the District Attorney's Office, filed earlier this month and made public last week, touched off the latest round of heated exchanges between him and opponent Mitch O'Farrell. They are battling to replace Eric Garcetti, who is running for mayor.

Choi alleges volunteers for O'Farrell's campaign are misleading voters in the Armenian community by making it appear that O'Farrell is running on a ticket with a candidate of Armenian descent, when in fact that candidate, Sam Kbushyan, did not make it into the May 21 runoff.

The complaint, submitted by Choi's attorney, also contends O'Farrell's volunteers have been collecting vote-by-mail ballots and telling voters they would mail them to the City Clerk. The attorney also claims volunteers for O'Farrell's campaign have been filling out ballots for voters, some of whom include residents at an Armenian senior home.

Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said the complaint was being reviewed, but the office had not yet opened an investigation into the allegations. She said the office reviews all complaints it receives, but that "is not the same as an investigation."

O'Farrell responded to Choi's accusations Friday with a "cease and desist" letter from his attorney accusing Choi of making "false and defamatory statements," using copyrighted news stories in mailers, violating election and civil rights laws and using false information to raise money for his campaign.

He said Choi's complaint was a distraction from policy issues affecting the 13th District.

O'Farrell has accused Choi of being an outsider, saying he only moved into the district last year. Choi, who lived in Fullerton from the ages of 6 to 18, said he has been a resident of Los Angeles for the last 10 years, living in West Los Angeles, Koreatown and the downtown area.

O'Farrell, who worked in Garcetti's office, said he has lived in the district for 31 years. But Choi said O'Farrell only moved into the district last year after the district's boundaries were changed.

O'Farrell's spokeswoman, Renee Nahum, said O'Farrell voted for four council members in the district.

"Who did Mr. Choi vote for, if he voted at all?" she asked.

Choi contends that by painting him as an "outsider," O'Farrell is using "code language that has been used for decades to instill fears around immigrants, particularly Asian immigrants."