Ontario police arrest man in voter fraud case

From the Los Angeles Times
Ontario police arrest man in voter fraud case
Mark Jacoby, who owns a firm hired by the California Republican Party, violated state laws with his own registration, authorities say.
By Evan Halper
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 20, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fraud20-2008oct20,0,3842357.story

SACRAMENTO — The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.

State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California. His firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM, collects petition signatures and registers voters in California and other states.

Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department late Saturday came after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by people employed by YPM. The voters said YPM workers tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters.

The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP.