The special election on the recall of Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez is still on after an OC Superior Court judge denied on Tuesday a request for a temporary restraining order to stop voting.
The court filing seeking the injunction to stop the election was filed Friday, Nov. 3, on behalf of a Santa Ana resident after questions arose over which ward map should have been used in gathering signatures to force the recall vote. OC Superior Court Judge Craig L. Griffin said in Tuesday’s hearing that he needs more time to research the issue, and would come back to the matter after the election on Jan. 12.
Lopez was elected to the Ward 3 seat in 2020. The boundaries of that district were changed in 2022 based on the latest U.S. Census, and that map of the ward was used in calculating how many signatures needed to be collected to force the special election and what voters would receive ballots. OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page contacted city officials on Oct. 26 about whether the 2020 map of the ward should be been used.
“I don’t think that I was surprised by the judge’s unwillingness to take a stand here, but I also understand that he needs time to review all of the materials that were presented to him. And I think that’s fair,” Lopez said. “We just have major concerns about the voters that are being disenfranchised in our city who are Latino, who are renters, who are mobile home residents.”
Lawyers representing Guadalupe Ocampo argued in their filing that the recall effort should be considered invalid because if the 2020 map is applied its supporters failed to collect enough valid signatures. Also, because of the changes in the boundaries, more than 350 voters received ballots who shouldn’t have, their filing argues, and more than 1,100 people who should be able to vote in the election didn’t get a ballot, including Ocampo.
Tim Rush, chair of the group supporting the recall effort, said its proponents were somewhat confident the judge would not…
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