ACORN

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Bad voter applications foundClerks see fraudulent, duplicate forms from group

Several municipal clerks across the state are reporting fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications, most of them from a nationwide community activist group working to help low- and moderate-income families.

The majority of the problem applications are coming from the group ACORN, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which has a large voter registration program among its many social service programs. ACORN's Michigan branch, based in Detroit, has enrolled 200,000 voters statewide in recent months, mostly with the use of paid, part-time employees.

"There appears to be a sizeable number of duplicate and fraudulent applications," said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State's Office. "And it appears to be widespread."

Chesney said her office has had discussions with ACORN officials after local clerks reported the questionable applications to the state. Chesney said some of the applications are duplicates and some appear to be names that have been made up. The Secretary of State's Office has turned over several of the applications to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday declined to confirm whether an investigation was taking place.

In recent years, ACORN's voter registration programs have come under investigation in Ohio, Colorado, Missouri and Washington, with some employees convicted of voter fraud.

ACORN officials said they were looking into the problem.

"We'll do an investigation to see what's happening," said David Lagstein, a spokesman for the Detroit office. "If it's really as many as that, it warrants further investigation."

In Pontiac, where several thousand applications have been submitted by ACORN in the last few weeks for the November election, the clerk's office is finding that numerous applications are sometimes filed under one name.

"What it causes is a slowdown of our operations," said Pontiac City Clerk Yvette Talley. "They're steadily coming in, and we are finding a huge number of duplications."

Talley said she could not provide an exact number.

Clerks are required to check their records against a statewide database of all registered voters within their jurisdiction, so it would be unlikely that duplications would allow voters to cast their votes more than once, Talley said.

"We catch them all, but it's taking up a lot of our time," she said.

In Oak Park, clerk Sandra Gadd said they have been seeing "lots of duplication" from ACORN in recent months but were reassured by ACORN officials that the group was working to correct the problem.

"They've been very cooperative," Gadd said. "I spoke with them this week. They called me, and they're willing to go door-to-door to do whatever they have to do to take care of this."

ACORN is the nation's largest community organization for low- and moderate-income families. Created more than 30 years ago, it has branches in 100 cities and claims 350,000 families as members. It works to help create affordable housing and health care, and to improve job conditions and neighborhood schools.

Lagstein said ACORN's Detroit office has hired dozens of employees for the voter registration program and that any problems likely stem from sloppiness or incompetence -- not an intent to let people vote more than once.

"We're proud of our efforts to increase voter registration, and we have aggressive training for our staff to make sure the cards are filled out appropriately," he said.

ACORN has a method to track the workers who filled out individual registration cards, which will allow investigators to question the workers, Lagstein said.

"We certainly do our best to keep the duplications as low as possible, so we'll have to evaluate what's happening here," he said.

My HUGE question is.. Why does Obama give them so damn much money? Like $800,000 Now theres corruption reform we can vote for.

[Fin]

My HUGE question is.. Why does Obama give them so damn much money? Like $800,000

The HUGE answer is: The poor have been under-represented far too long in American politics, & Obama has seen an opportunity to give them a voice. Graft? Corruption? Undoubtedly. But show me one huge steam-rolling bureaucratic machine that doesn't have it's fair share of graft, & I'll show you a fantasy. The underclass has been brow-beaten to the point that it has come to believe the message of priveleged--"your vote does not count." If it really did, McCain would be courting these votes, too. Obama has taken a stand to make sure those votes count just as much as votes from the middle & upper class do. Do you honestly have a problem with that assertion? Huge answer: NO.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

I have a huge problem with campaigning on a platform of change and anti-corruption.. and then funding voter fraud.

[TitsMcGee]

I find it rather funny how people who live in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties think their vote doesn't count. Try living in northern MI where we have a totally different mindset than people who live down state. If anyones vote doesn't really mean shit in this state, it's the people who live north of the Tri-city area.

But who knows, maybe we just like our guns and religion to much...

[n0Mad]

Some people think their votes don't count and others can't be trusted to vote responsibly. So I say we don't use the people's votes to decide on anything real, but rather let those numbers represent how many delegates can vote for us. Since these delegates will be smart people, we'll call this group the electoral college. We'll continue to let the deluded public think they live in a Democracy, but we know the truth that we're a Republic.

[Fin]

I have a huge problem with campaigning on a platform of change and anti-corruption.. and then funding voter fraud.

As I said, show me a bureaucracy without graft, & I'll show you a fantasy.

Forgive my idealism, but I still believe the vote of every American adult should count.

I have a much larger problem voting for someone who wholeheartedly supports an immoral war in which nearly 100,000 lives have been needlessly lost. I have waited very patiently & have given McCain more than a fair shot to convince me. He has failed. He has two more attempts, & I will listen.

Some people think their votes don't count and others can't be trusted to vote responsibly. So I say we don't use the people's votes to decide on anything real, but rather let those numbers represent how many delegates can vote for us. Since these delegates will be smart people, we'll call this group the electoral college. We'll continue to let the deluded public think they live in a Democracy, but we know the truth that we're a Republic.

Very well put, Spook.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

As I said, show me a bureaucracy without graft, & I'll show you a fantasy.

Forgive my idealism, but I still believe the vote of every American adult should count.

I have a much larger problem voting for someone who wholeheartedly supports an immoral war in which nearly 100,000 lives have been needlessly lost. I have waited very patiently & have given McCain more than a fair shot to convince me. He has failed. He has two more attempts, & I will listen.

Very well put, Spook.

I have the same idealism... I just hold to the beleif that once you die... your right to vote is gone.

[Fin]

I have the same idealism... I just hold to the beleif that once you die... your right to vote is gone.

I agree with you, Gaf.

But to be topical, you must not confuse the overall "strategy" (mobilizing the indigent to realize their votes matter) with poorly chosen "tactics" (voter fraud carried out by a few bad apples, etc.).

[Goth Brooks]

We'll continue to let the deluded public think they live in a Democracy, but we know the truth that we're a Republic.

USA is a democratic republic. The two are not exclusive.

I don't see the point of organizations like ACORN. If people want to vote, they can just walk into the nearest SOS and register there. That money could be much better spent on the numerous homeless in MI. (Personally I suggest a greyhound ticket elsewhere.. but I'm just a bastard)

[Goth Brooks]

(voter fraud carried out by a few bad apples, etc.).

You are making an assumption that the voter fraud is not sanctioned by the organization, officially or unofficially, as a "BAMN" way of defeating McCain.

[n0Mad]

USA is a democratic republic. The two are not exclusive.

True, I was just being sardonic.

I don't see the point of organizations like ACORN. If people want to vote, they can just walk into the nearest SOS and register there.

Good point. I registered today (changed registration from Colorado to Michigan actually). It was easy and shockingly fast.

[Rev.Reverence]

I have a huge problem with campaigning on a platform of change and anti-corruption.. and then funding voter fraud.

I agree...to the extent that hypocritical actions such as these are just bad form...

..BUT...it is pretty cool to see the shoe on the other foot for once in my life...

[Reaper]

I heard about ACORN thru Fox News as well and didn't think anyone really needed it as there are SOS' all over the place where you could easily get registered. Even though I don't vote often, I still get registered when I do the address change on my license just in case.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Alleging fraud, authorities raid voter group

ACORN's canvassers filled out forms with fake names, addresses, officials say

State authorities on Tuesday raided an organization that registers low-income people to vote, alleging that its canvassers falsified forms with bogus names, fake addresses or famous personalities.

The secretary of state's office launched an investigation after noticing that names did not match addresses and that most members of the Dallas Cowboys appeared to be registering in Nevada to vote in November's general election.

"Some of these (forms) were facially fraudulent; we basically had the starting lineup for the Dallas Cowboys," Secretary of State Ross Miller said. "Tony Romo is not registered to vote in Nevada. Anyone trying to pose as Terrell Owens won't be able to cast a ballot."

Agents with the secretary of state and state attorney general offices served a search warrant on the headquarters of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, at 953 E. Sahara Ave. shortly after 9 a.m. They seized voter registration forms and computer databases to determine how many fake forms were submitted and identify employees who were responsible.

They also sought information regarding current and past employees and managers.

"We don't know how many (falsified forms) are here; there may be two, or there may be thousands," said Bob Walsh, spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

Registration fraud typically stems from workers striving to meet their daily quota of submitted voter forms, Miller said.

Most organizations require their workers to sign up 20 voters a day. Fraudulent forms start filtering in when workers struggle to meet their quota and either fill in bogus names or accept documents with names that are clearly falsified, Miller said.

In a statement released by ACORN on Tuesday, Interim Chief Organizer Bertha Lewis said the group based in Clark County routinely flagged suspect applications and notified the Clark County Election Department. The group provided state and county officials with the names of individuals who submitted the falsified registration forms.

"Election officials routinely ignored this information and failed to act," Lewis said. "ACORN pleaded with them to take our concerns about fraudulent applications seriously."

In late July, election officials requested copies of the same documents that previously had been handed over by ACORN, Lewis said. In September, ACORN received a subpoena requesting information on 15 employees, whose names already had been turned in to election officials by the organization.

"Today's raid by the secretary of state's office is a stunt that serves no useful purpose other than to discredit our work registering Nevadans and distracting us from the important work ahead of getting every eligible voter to the polls," Lewis said.

Miller said that is not the case. He said the state's investigation began before ACORN submitted the forms referred to in Lewis' statement. In early July, investigators began looking through ACORN's registration forms. One canvasser turned in 17 applications; only four addresses existed, the investigators alleged.

According to an affidavit filed by the secretary of state, the canvasser was interviewed and told investigators that meeting the daily quota was difficult because it was hot outside and potential voters rejected her invitation to register.

Other canvassers hired by ACORN were residents at the Casa Grande Transitional Housing Facility, a Nevada Department of Corrections institution that offers convicted felons an opportunity to take part in work-release programs.

"It raises significant concerns that they hired prison inmates, some of whom have been convicted of identity theft," Miller said.

ACORN's field director in Nevada and the head of its voter registration effort, known as Project Vote, said the agency is cooperating fully with the investigation.

"We're proud of what we did here," Chris Edwards said. "We've got nothing to hide."

Tuesday morning's raid came on a day when ACORN had been planning a news conference and potluck lunch to celebrate the culmination of its voter registration drive, which the group said resulted in 90,000 new registrants since February, and to launch a get-out-the-vote push for the election.

The event went ahead around noon, starting with a pep talk of the group's staffers and volunteers, who stood to testify to the mission of the enterprise and who said they would remain undaunted.

"This is a great organization," Bonnie Smith-Greathouse, head organizer for Nevada ACORN, told a group of about 15 gathered in front of the organization's office. "We've done great things in the community, and we're going to do even greater things in the future."

Smith-Greathouse suggested that powerful interests were trying to squelch the voices of the poor that ACORN is trying to empower.

"Project Vote has been attacked all over the country because we registered at least 1.2 million voters," she said. "That could sway an election. You should be very proud. Something so significant in history has never happened in Nevada before."

Edwards stressed the mission of empowering those on society's lower rungs. "We don't go to Trader Joe's to register voters," he said. "We don't go to Macy's or Whole Foods. We sign people up to vote at welfare offices. We sign people up at post offices in poor neighborhoods."

ACORN's voter registration drive has consisted of recruiting people from off the street, many of them down-and-outers desperate for work, with the promise of $8 an hour for often grueling work. The canvassers were required to be on their feet, flagging down potential registrants, often in the 100-plus-degree heat of the Las Vegas summer.

Although they were not paid a set fee per registration form collected, which is illegal, they had to meet certain quotas of registrations each day, which is legal.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax, who has been speaking out about the fraudulent submissions and passing them along to the secretary of state's office for months, said under those circumstances, there was an obvious temptation for workers to duck into an air-conditioned library, for example, and start copying out of the phone book or off a sports roster.

"Anybody who decides they're going to pay people to go out and register voters is basically opening themselves up to that," he said. Lomax said he did not think there was a systematic attempt to submit phony forms.

Once turned in, the voter registration forms are subject to a verification process by Lomax's office.

People whose forms listed phony or business addresses would have been sent a letter advising them they would be voided if they didn't respond within 15 days. People who didn't list a driver's license or Social Security number that matched their name and address would be flagged on the voter rolls and required to bring photo identification to the polls to be allowed to vote.

Because of the safeguards, Lomax said he was confident no one will vote who shouldn't be allowed. "People don't need to fear for the integrity of this election," he said.

ACORN said it had a quality-control operation of its own in place to check registration forms before they were turned in. Joe Camp, who was in charge of the effort, said he would call the phone number the registrant had listed and ask whether the information on the form was correct.

"To my standards, to ACORN's standards, everything that was turned in to the Board of Elections was legitimate," said Camp, a 28-year-old Las Vegan who said he previously worked as a real-estate appraiser.

Lomax said he has seen some evidence of quality control on ACORN's part this year. The registration forms legally cannot be discarded or destroyed, and some would be turned in with a note saying that they appeared to be fraudulent and that the canvasser had been fired, but that was "by no means the majority" of the suspect forms, Lomax said.

ACORN is a nonpartisan organization, but it is affiliated with a political action committee that has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama in the presidential election. The Nevada authorities spearheading the investigation, Miller and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, are both Democrats.

Obama's work as a community organizer in Chicago in the early 1990s was with Project Vote, but his campaign said it was not affiliated with ACORN at the time. Obama also was part of a team of lawyers representing ACORN in 1995 in a lawsuit that accused the state of Illinois of putting up barriers to poor people trying to register.

A spokeswoman for Obama's campaign would not comment on his past ties to the group but said the work ACORN is now engaged in is separate from the campaign.

"The Obama campaign is not affiliated with nor do we work with ACORN," Kirsten Searer said. "We have our own, separate voter registration campaign."

Republicans seized on the news of Tuesday's raid. The Clark County Republican Party issued a statement condemning voter fraud and calling for full prosecution of anyone responsible.

ACORN's other major activity is housing aid, for which it is eligible for federal grants from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under newly enacted affordable-housing provisions.

Nevada Sen. John Ensign, a Republican, on Tuesday called for the suspension of the affordable housing funds because they might be going to "controversial groups like ACORN."

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, also a Republican, said the ACORN problem was evidence Nevada needs a law requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls. Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, has proposed such a bill to be considered by the 2009 Legislature.

In the interim, Miller urged residents who registered with third parties to check the Nevada secretary of state's Web site to reaffirm their voting status. The deadline to register for the November election is Oct. 14. New registrations must be submitted in person at the Clark County Government Center or the Clark County Election Department.