The Republicans like to chirp about "voter fraud". What's their stance on "candidate fraud"?

Republicans all over the country have been crying wolf voter fraud to rationalize their efforts to suppress the voting rights of minorities.  The fact that the number of cases is actually miniscule is irrelevent.  They aren't trying to address the alleged problem that they are citing.

They're trying to make voting more difficult for eligible voters from groups that tend to support Democratic candidates, namely the poor and minorities.

One thing that they haven't been crying about is candidate fraud.

To whit, from the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Hank Stephenson -

Political newcomer Darin Mitchell defeated an incumbent legislator in the Aug. 28 primary election, but it appears he never should have been on the ballot because he lives in a home outside Legislative District 13.

 

Mitchell claimed in a sworn affidavit that he lives in a 3,600-square-foot home on a golf course in Litchfield Park. In reality, the home is vacant, with mattresses covering the front windows, a construction dumpster in the driveway and construction permits taped to the window. Neighbors say the house has been empty for at least a year, and a contractor working on the home confirmed nobody lives there.

Oopsie.

In 2010, a Republican attempted a similar stunt, trying to run for a legislative seat in District 17 (central and north Tempe and south Scottsdale) while living in District 20 (south Tempe, Ahwatukee, and a bit of Chandler).  One of the then-vice chairs of the AZGOP, Augustus Shaw, lived in south Tempe with his wife and family, but claimed that he actually resided in the home of his in-laws in central Tempe.

When called on it, he claimed that he did it for his autistic son.

Yeah, I know what you are thinking, and the judge didn't buy it either.  Shaw was thrown off of the ballot.

On the bright side, however, at least Shaw actually picked an address where people lived; apparently, Darin Mitchell has couldn't be bothered to put in that much research time, and picked a nearly uninhabitable structure for his address.

One would think that they would have learned the lesson from 2010, but apparently, one would think wrong.

It remains to be seen how this will play out, but whatever else happens, don't expect Mitchell to face criminal charges - the Arizona Attorney General and Arizona Secretary of State, people who might be expected to weigh on criminal proceedings in matters like this, are Republicans who are known for placing a higher value on partisan affiliation than on the law.