Former AD 30 candidate sentenced for felony election fraud
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Prunedale resident and former Assembly District 30 candidate Neil Kitchens has been sentenced to probation for felony election fraud.
According to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office, Kitchens pleaded no contest to one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy in the 2018 election.
A state assembly candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a California resident for three years, a resident of the legislative district for one year and a registered voter in that district when the nomination papers are filed.
When Kitchens ran for the open AD 30 seat, the DA's Office said he did not live in the district. He lived in Prunedale, which is part of the 29th District. The DA's Office said he knowingly filed falsified candidacy papers listing a Salinas address so he would be eligible. He was charged after a citizen complaint.
"The integrity of the election process serves as a bedrock of democracy in the United States of America. Those who seek to undermine the legitimacy of our democracy will be held accountable under the law," the DA's Office said in a statement.
Kitchens was sentenced to two years of formal probation for the election fraud charge and five years of informal probation for an unrelated DUI charge. He was also ordered to serve 60 days in jail, which the DA's Office said he could serve in home confinement.
