Joe vs. Moe 2.0: Lawsuit Filed in Possible Miami Ghost Candidate Scheme

Florida Democratic state Rep. Joe Saunders has filed a lawsuit challenging the candidacy of a potential ghost candidate running against him in the upcoming District 106 election.

On June 25, Saunders filed a lawsuit against Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Christina White, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, and his aunt, Maureen Saunders Scott, alleging that Saunders Scott adopted the nickname "Moe Saunders" to appear on the general election ballot in order to "confuse voters seeking to support" her nephew.

"Defendant Scott's entire candidacy is intended to confuse, deceive and mislead voters and fraudulently siphon votes from Plaintiff [Joe Saunders]," the lawsuit reads.

As New Times previously reported, on June 7, a week before the qualifying period ended, Saunders Scott filed to enter the race against Democrat Joe Saunders and incumbent Republican state Rep. Fabián Basabe as a No Party Affiliation (NPA) candidate. Records show the 63-year-old doesn't live in District 106, which covers Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, and Bay Harbor Islands, but nearly 300 miles away near Jacksonville.

Ben Wilcox, research director at the nonprofit government watchdog group Integrity Florida, told New Times he saw parallels between this scenario and the sham-candidate scheme allegedly orchestrated by former Republican state senator Frank Artiles.

In the August primary, Saunders Scott will face Basabe, Republican attorney Melinda Almonte, and Saunders, who filed to run against Basabe in May 2023 as the freshman legislator made headlines for breaking campaign promises and getting involved in tabloid-worthy antics.

Notably, on June 13, Saunders Scott changed her name on the ballot to "Moe Saunders."

The lawsuit cites three instances where Saunders Scott allegedly lied in her filings — by swearing that she had not been registered as a member of a political party for a year before the qualifying period began, that she was an elector of Miami-Dade County, and that she is generally known by the nickname "Moe Saunders."

"In fact, she is known by the name Mo Scott, not 'Mo Saunders' — and definitely not 'Moe Saunders,'" the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit includes emails and social media posts in which Saunders Scott referred to herself as "Mo" and "Aunt Mo."

It alleges that after filing her qualification papers with the state Division of Elections, she changed the name of her account on X (formerly known as Twitter) from "Aunt Mo" to "Moe Saunders for Florida."

"This alleged nickname was invented by [Saunders Scott] for purposes of confusing, deceiving and misleading voters by appearing alongside Plaintiff's name on the general election ballot, with the intent to fraudulently syphon votes from 'Joe Saunders' to the similarly appearing "Moe Saunders,'" the lawsuit reads.

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