Former Stanton City Councilmember Charged with Multiple Felonies for Lying on Nomination Paperwork to Run for Re-election for a City Council Seat in a District in Which She Did Not Live, Illegally Voting

Hong Alyce Van. City of Stanton

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former Stanton City Councilmember has been charged with multiple felonies for forging nomination paperwork to run for re-election for a City Council seat in a district in which she did not live and illegally voting in the November 5, 2024, general election.

Hong Alyce Van, 40, of Anaheim, has been charged with one felony count of perjury, one felony count of offering a false or forged document to be filed, registered, or recorded, one felony count of filing false nomination papers, and one felony account of not being entitled to vote at an election.

Van is scheduled to be arraigned on January 29, 2025, at the Stephen K. Tamura Justice Center in Westminster in Department W12. She faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted on all counts.

Van was elected in November 2020 to represent Stanton’s City Council District #2, but less than a year after her election Van is accused of purchasing a home in Stanton City Council District #4 with her husband and son. Despite no longer living in her district, Van did not resign as required by law and continued to serve as the District #2 City Councilmember. Van did not sell her home in District #2, which was located next to the home where her parents live and allowed other family members to live in her former home.

While serving on the City Council, Van is accused of leaving her home located in Stanton City Council District #4, driving to her former residence in Stanton City Council District #2, and then walking to Stanton City Hall to attend City Council meetings.

On July 23, 2024, Van submitted an Affidavit of Nominee, which she signed under penalty of perjury, to run for re-election for Stanton City Council District #2, despite the fact that she no longer lived in the district and was therefore ineligible to run for the City Council seat.

Van’s voter registration continued to list her former District #2 address after she moved and she illegally cast her vote in the November 2024 election while being registered at her former address.

“The integrity of our elections will be safeguarded and political candidates who lie and cheat the system in order to get elected will be prosecuted,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “These are not mistakes. These are deliberate decisions to interfere with our democratic process and they will not be tolerated.”

Deputy District Attorney Heather Heslep-Morrissey of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.

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