A hearing officer Monday concluded that voter fraud occurred in Vernon's June City Council election, throwing out seven of the 64 ballots cast in the race and declaring a new winner.

The decision by former Superior Court Judge Debra Wong Yang came after an unusual, quasi-judicial proceeding last month at City Hall in which dozens of voters were called to testify about their commuting patterns, financial histories and even Facebook pages. Yang ruled that five of the voters in question were not residents of the city. Two others, she said, did not properly submit their ballots.

Yang's ruling, if approved by the City Council, would tilt the race in favor of candidate Luz Martinez, who had trailed 34 votes to 30.

Read more at the LA Times