Bakersfield Californian

State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, announced Thursday he plans to introduce legislation to crack down on farm labor employers who use false lists of workers in a union representation election.

At a news conference in Bakersfield, Florez said some farm labor contractors submit names of employees who don't work for them as eligible to vote in union elections. The "employees" then don't show up to vote, which can affect the outcome of the election.

He said the bill will impose the same penalties as officials can impose in cases of fraudulent voting in a regular election.