The California Secretary of State said that Mark Anthony Jacoby, the owner of Young Political Majors - a signature-gathering firm hired by the California Republican Party to sign up Southland voters - was arrested today in Ontario on suspicion of committing voter registration fraud in Los Angeles.

Arrested in Ontario by Canadian and California investigators late Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California home, where he grew up but no longer lives.

Dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by Jacoby’s firm, saying they were told they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters. The Times said the firm was paid up to $12 for every state resident registered as a Republican.

Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, said that the fraud unit officials and Ontario police took Jacoby into custody just before midnight near an Ontario motel. Jacoby, who could not be reached for comment, was released on $50,000 bail.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office and several other agencies have begun investigations. None of the legal charges are related to slamming.

On October 3, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s public integrity unit charged Jacoby with four felonies - two counts of voter registration fraud and two counts of perjury.

Meanwhile, the California Republican Party issued a statement calling Jacoby’s arrest a “partisan activity undertaken by California Secretary of State, Debra Bowen.” The statement said Bowen was trying to deflect attention from ACORN, a liberal voter registration group that has come under fire from Republicans. It added: “It’s clear that Bowen, herself the recipient of an ACORN endorsement, has elevated these issues to achieve maximum political benefit and deflect attention from the Democratic presidential nominee’s high-profiled problems and associations.”