Republicans continually complain about voter fraud as a an excuse to enact draconian laws to disenfranchise poor and minority voters. Of course this is a Republican lie. The Justice Department, acting on orders from GW Bush, conducted a five year investigation and found virtually no evidence of voter fraud. Of course voter fraud does happen, but DOJ was looking in the wrong place. The real voter fraud is not from illegal voters defrauding elections. It is from Republicans defrauding voters. For example, Arizona State Senate President, Russell Pearce, is facing a recall election over his draconian policies, including Arizona’s racist, illegal “papers please” law, mismanagement of state funding, cuts to education, and more. To muddy the waters in that election, he is defrauding Arizona voters by setting up a Teabagger pal to run in the election as a moderate, thus siphoning votes away from Pearce’s main opponent in the race, a more moderate Republican.

…On the verge of blowing up into an irreparable scandal for Pearce, the self-proclaimed "Tea Party President" and first senate president to face a recall election in American history, a series of blatant efforts by his campaign supporters to fraudulently set up the sham candidacy of Olivia Cortes to undermine his main opponent’s support has unraveled into a damaging comedy of errors.

After the Secretary of State’s office deferred on an investigation into Cortes’ campaign for fraud, long-time Mesa Republican Mary Lou Boettcher and attorney Tom Ryan filed a suit yesterday in the Superior Court of Maricopa County for a "verified statement of election contest." Boettcher, the co-founder of one of the oldest Mesa Republican women’s clubs in 1962, contends:

Olivia Cortes is currently listed as a candidate for the office of Senator for LD 18. Upon information and belief, Contestant alleges Ms. Cortes is a registered Republican and a member of the "Tea Party." Ms. Cortes is a well-known supporter of recalled Senator Russell Pearce. Upon information and belief Ms. Cortes has voted for Russell Pearce. Upon information and belief, Ms. Cortes has no campaign committee, no volunteers for her campaign, and her campaign is being financed and operated entirely by those who wish to dilute the vote in favor of Recalled Senator, Russell Pearce.

Contestant contests the right of Contestee Cortes to be on the ballot and to run in the Recall Election currently set for November 8, 2011 because Contestee Cortes is a fraudulent and diversionary candidate within the meaning of Arizona law.