The letter to Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green alleges those two things prove Freeman committed voter fraud.

"Mr. Freeman registered as a voter in Orange County even though he did not 'reside' in the 'territory' in which the election was held in violation of the California Elections Code Section 2000(a) et seq. Presumably, Mr. Freeman knew he did not 'reside' in Newport Beach as the law requires because he was living in Bakersfield and spent only one day a month in Newport Beach," the letter stated.

Green said Tuesday evening her office had not received the complaint formally but would review what it has seen from journalists to determine the next step to take.

Freeman called Nance's accusations a smokescreen full of false information.

"Mr. Nance is simply playing political games to try to distract voters from the true issues: each candidate's skills and experience that can be brought to the table to solve the very serious quality of life and fiscal problems facing the city of Bakersfield," Freeman wrote in a text message. "The voters in Bakersfield do not like smear campaigns. They want to hear about the candidates' skills, accomplishments, and experience, the things that count when you want to serve the city of Bakersfield."

Proving voter fraud can be difficult.

Under state law, voters must vote in the place they maintain their "domicile" — where all their stuff is, their family is and where they plan to return when they are gone.

For someone who owns more than one home — as Freeman does — that "domicile" is presumed to be the place the voter maintains his or her property tax exemption. Another major indicator of residence is a person’s voter registration.

According to Orange County elections records, Freeman registered to vote there in July 2014 and cast ballots there in November 2014, March 2015, June 2016 and November 2016.

For there to be voter fraud, someone must prove Freeman’s domicile was somewhere else — Bakersfield, for instance — while he was voting in Orange County.

For proof of the fraud, Nance turns to Freeman's statement in the March 1 story that he'd never stopped living in Bakersfield after his 2014 retirement from Castle & Cooke.

"I own a home down there. I have been able to get there about one day a month for the last two years," Freeman told a reporter.

On Tuesday, Freeman said he had seen the Newport Beach home only occasionally during the past two months — not two years.

Prior to that, he said, he spent a good deal of time in Newport Beach.

“I have spent less time than hoped for when I retired in my Orange County home, especially the last two months due to many Bakersfield responsibilities serving on boards like CSUB and Mercy Hospital, as well as spending time with my exchange student helping him learn English,” Freeman said in a text. “I have, however, probably spent about the same amount of time at the Orange County house — many three-day weekends, the summer months, the Christmas, Easter, and other holiday seasons — as other people in Bakersfield spend in their homes at the coast.”

So during the past two years, did he consider Bakersfield his primary residence or Newport Beach?

Freeman wouldn’t say.

“(I) have tried to explain all the things I do in Bakersfield — call them civic and service and business activities — and how I spent my time in Orange County — more on R&R and family time. Drive back and forth constantly. Never counted the exact days in one house versus the other. That's the best I know how to answer,” Freeman stated in a text.

He did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.

Nance came in third in the November election for the Ward 5 seat. In the past week, he has pursued Freeman — the retired president of developer Castle & Cooke's mainland division — aggressively since his name came up as a potential candidate.

A Monday press release from Nance's campaign team said the call for an investigation was prompted by the concerns of people who live in Ward 5.

"We have received dozens of contacts from Ward 5 residents about these admissions and have been asked to convey their concerns to the Department of Elections and the District Attorney’s offices in both Kern County and Orange County. In compliance with the wishes of concerned Ward 5 residents, we are submitting all information that has been sent to us by the community," the press release stated.

Nance said in an interview he was surprised by Freeman’s explanation of where he lived and voted between 2014 and 2016.

“Our concern initially was it appeared to be a clear-cut case of carpetbagging,” he said. “It seems like, with the (newspaper) interview, there is a whole can of worms there.”

He said he felt compelled to bring the issue forward on behalf of the constituents of Ward 5.

“The citizens are turning to me and saying this is an issue for our area,” Nance said. “To be a voice for the people; we felt this was the right way to go.”

So far Nance, Freeman and Noel Pineo have been certified as candidates for the June 6 election. A fourth candidate, Larry Koman, has pulled papers to run but has not returned them. Two other people, Lily Nahama and Ty Hudgens, pulled papers for the Ward 5 seat but have decided not to run, according to Interim Bakersfield City Clerk Pam McCarthy.

By law, Freeman registered to vote in Ward 5 soon enough to make him a valid candidate for the city council seat.

The contest will allow voters to choose a replacement for Councilman Jeff Tkac, who was elected to represent Ward 5 in November and died in January of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.