Mr. Guy asked in the comments of a previous post:
I think Obama has worked with ACORN before…so what though?? They are one of the largest grassroots community organizations of low- and moderate-income people…how is that a bad thing??
Well, Mr. Guy, if that is your real name, Obama did not just have a brief past relationship with ACORN; the Obama campaign paid ACORN $800,000 to register new voters — and mis-reported it to the FEC.
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign paid more than $800,000 to an offshoot of the liberal Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now for services the Democrat’s campaign says it mistakenly misrepresented in federal reports.
An Obama spokesman said Federal Election Commission reports would be amended to show Citizens Services Inc. — a subsidiary of ACORN — worked in “get-out-the-vote” projects, instead of activities such as polling, advance work and staging major events as stated in FEC finance reports filed during the primary.
This organization that Obama is paying to register voters is being investigated for fraud. There is fraud reported in at least four states, in this election alone.
Officials in Missouri, a hard-fought jewel in the presidential race, are sifting through possibly hundreds of questionable or duplicate voter-registration forms submitted by an advocacy group that has been accused of election fraud in other states.
Charlene Davis, co-director of the election board in Jackson County, where Kansas City is, said the fraudulent registration forms came from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. She said they were bogging down work Wednesday, the final day Missourians could register to vote.
[...]
On Tuesday, authorities in Nevada seized records from ACORN after finding fraudulent registration forms that included the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys.
In April, eight ACORN workers in St. Louis city and county pleaded guilty to federal election fraud for submitting false registration cards for the 2006 election. U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said they submitted cards with false addresses and names, and forged signatures.
In addition to Missouri and Nevada, there have been reports of ACORN’s fraudulent activity in Connecticut and Wisconsin.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission has opened an investigation into allegations that a community activist organization submitted at least 10 false voter-registration cards in Bridgeport.
One of the phony registrations was for a 7-year-old girl in the Marina Village housing complex, whose age was listed as 27 on the voter card.
Another registration came from a man who later said he couldn’t have completed the voter card purported to be his because he was in jail on the date of the document.
[...]
[The city of Bridgeport's registrar of voters, Joseph J.] Borges submitted evidence including the registration of a Stratford woman who said she was “pressured” into completing a card with a Bridgeport address. Another registration contained two voters registration forms with different signatures for the same person.
“We have three boxes of returned letters, with no such address, no such name,” Borges said. “It’s crazy.”
On his complaint, Borges said the flood of ACORN-generated voter cards “has put a strain on my office and jeopardizes our ability to enter legitimate registration cards.”
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Last week, the district attorney’s office charged Endalyn Adams, 21, with submitting registration cards with dozens of fake names to meet what amounted to a quota from the Community Voters Project. Some of the false names were flagged by voters project leaders before the cards were turned over to the Milwaukee Election Commission; those names were never added to the voter rolls, and the rest have been removed.
In another five cases, investigators found insufficient evidence of fraud. The rest remain under review, said Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, who filed the charges against Mucklin and Adams.
Virtually all the workers under scrutiny were employed by either the voters project or by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Those groups were among several politically liberal organizations that launched massive voter registration drives in Milwaukee in advance of the Nov. 4 election.
Do you see a pattern here?
Mr. Guy, you and others like you might not see a problem with fraudulent voter registration when it will help Barack Obama get into the White House, but I do. You might think that the ends justify the means, but there are no ends that justify undermining the integrity of US elections.
In key battleground states, a few thousand fraudulent votes could change the outcome of the election.
The question in people’s minds now — well, in the minds of people who are not under Obama’s spell — is what will the future of elections in the US look like under a Barack Obama presidency? Will these fraudulent voter registrations still be investigated when Obama controls the Executive Branch of the US Government? Or will this sham system be in place permanently, guaranteeing future elections to liberal Democrats?
Given that Obama paid ACORN $800,000 to work on behalf of his campaign, knowing the organization’s continued problems with fraud, the answers do not look so good.
That’s how Obama’s ACORN association is a “bad thing.”
October 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Who cares?
The connections you’ve drawn here are tenuous and inconsequential.
Why don’t you rail against what Kathrine Harris did purging thousands of valid, legal voters in 2000? That’s a far worse crime.
Electronic voting which cannot be audited is a far greater danger than human fraud could ever be.
October 10th, 2008 at 1:28 am
It’s only voter fraud to the GOP when it involves brown people voting. Charity’s going so off the deep end lately, it’s best to just nod understandingly while you offer some pity while trying not to look to uncomfortable. Sorta how you’d look at that co-worker when they tell you how bright and mavericky Sarah Palin is.
0% original concepts or ideas, but lotsa good ol’ Hannityesque right wing talking points. I guess it has some entertainment value. Or not. At the very least, the anti-intellectualism and perpetual victimhood which are two of the tenets of modern day conservatism are on full display here lately.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:37 am
“if that is your real name”
Who cares what my name is…I’m nobody from nowhere…now get over it please, or not…whatever.
“‘get-out-the-vote’ projects” or “polling, advance work and staging major events”…and the difference is?? Let’s face it…Obama is working with organizations like ACORN in order to register more like-minded people that may likely vote for Obama, and that’s wrong because why?? The GOP does this kind of thing all the time. Heck, I’ve even seen concerted efforts to register more voters right here in VT, and we’ve been in the bag (as the states 3 electoral votes go) for Obama since day one of this campaign.
From your own PA link:
“FEC spokeswoman Mary Brandenberger said it is not unusual for campaigns to amend reports, even regarding large sums of money.”
“‘It’s pretty bold for the RNC to attack us for a clerical error after John McCain’s campaign was just forced to return $50,000 raised by a foreign national through a number of contributors who weren’t even supporting McCain.’”
“the campaign’s error on FEC documents doesn’t seem extraordinary, especially considering the huge amounts of money being spent.
‘It’s rare that people don’t file any amended reports. If he has a pattern of lots and lots of amended reports, that would be more noteworthy than an occasional one,’”
And wow…”10 false voter-registration cards in Bridgeport”…stop the presses…we may have 10 voters on the rolls that don’t exist…cancel the election in CT!
From your own WI link:
“The groups also say the cases represent a small percentage of the dozens of workers and tens of thousands of voters signed up.”
“investigations have found no evidence of widespread or organized vote fraud”
“Do you see a pattern here?”
Yes, I do, and it’s unfortunately called the state of politics in the USA right now.
“there are no ends that justify undermining the integrity of US elections.”
Does the election in FL in 2000 ring any bells?? Hellooooo…
“is what will the future of elections in the US look like under a Barack Obama presidency?”
Hyperbole anyone??
“Will these fraudulent voter registrations still be investigated when Obama controls the Executive Branch of the US Government?”
Were they sucessfully investigated by the Bush Regime after the 2000 election?? Nope, and I doubt Obama will either.
“Or will this sham system be in place permanently, guaranteeing future elections to liberal Democrats?”
Again, hyperbole anyone??
Look, as it’s been noted here before…it really must suck to know that the “conservtaive” movement is going down the drain hard right now in the USA. I can relate…I didn’t feel too well after the mid-term election in 1994 or the elections of 2000 or 2004. Politics come in cycles, and your side is on the short-end of the stick right now. I’d say that I was actually sorry about that Charity, but I’m not…
October 14th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Charity, what do you expect ACORN to have done with those bad voter registrations that were required BY LAW
October 14th, 2008 at 5:34 am
(cont) to be turned in?
How would you feel about ACORN if they were only turning in the forms they wanted to?
Charity, have you read ACORN’s statements on this subject?
October 14th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Exactly, in almost every state there are required to turn in ALL completed applications, even the ones they know to be problematic. They voluntarily flag in writing incomplete, problem, or suspicious cards when they turn them in, then some officials (mostly GOPers) then come back weeks or months later & make accusations of ACORN deliberately turning in phony cards. No criminal charges related to voter registration have *ever* been brought against ACORN or partner organizations. The applications in question represent less than 1% of the thousands & thousands of registrations ACORN has collected so far.
Oh, and let’s forget that McSame was a keynote speaker at an ACORN-sponsored, February 2006 south FL rally…ooopppsss…
This is a totally phony issue that’s meant to distract people from what’s really at stake in this election IMO.
October 14th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Rama, yes I have read what ACORN has to say.
I understand that they have to turn all registrations in, but their methods of obtaining registrations encourage fraud or are downright fraudulent, ie registering dead people.
Mr. Guy, you are so full of factual inaccuracies I am tempted to delete your comments.
“No criminal charges related to voter registration have *ever* been brought against ACORN or partner organizations.”
Wrong!!!
and
There is a convenient little summary of all things ACORN that you can read. I am not going to redo all of the work that others have already done.
Enjoy: The Complete Guide to ACORN Voter Fraud
October 14th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
“you are so full of factual inaccuracies I am tempted to delete your comments.”
Knock yourself out Charity…you wouldn’t be the first “conservative” blog in VT that felt threatened by the actual truth. Your buddies at “the Tiger” couldn’t take the heat either…lol…whatever…
Neither the ACORN organization nor ANY of their partner organizations have ever been convicted of anything, period. The point is that you guys on the Right are merely trumping up isolated incidents and trying to piece together some big “conspiracy” that doesn’t actually exist.
I just love the “evidence” that your link tries to pass off…an opinion peice from the Right-wing Investor’s Business Daily, the “Gateway Punidt” Right-wing blog (which states as I have stated above that “ACORN says it’s happy the indictments were handed up — they say they provided the names of three of the four indicted individuals, who, they say, no longer work for ACORN.”), various GOP officials, and a host of other Right-wing blogs & “news” media that are too far off the deep end for me to even give them the time of day.
35 voter registrations that appear to be “bogus” in FL…cancel the election! Also, according to a WS newspaper, “an investigation by U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic, appointed by President Bush, turned up no widespread fraud in the 2004 election.”
The only widespread fraud that’s being perpetrated here is the concerted Right-wing effort to discredit the idea of voter registration. We already know of numerous examples of Right-wing voter suppression efforts of the past. Heaven forbid that we fully implement the federal “Motor Voter” law for instance.
October 15th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Am I in backward land? “Threatened by the truth”???? I have always left every single false, stupid, mean, and otherwise inappropriate comment that anyone has ever left on this blog, since day one.
Most of what you say is far from truth. When I don’t reply to your comments, it is not because I am wowed by your truth, it is because there are not enough hours in my day to refute every single wrong thing you say.
It is true that ACORN, the organization itself, has not been convicted. Okay. How do you convict an organization? Was Enron ever convicted?
There have been enough people, working for ACORN, convicted of fraudulently registering ineligible voters, dead people, and people that they already registered, bribing people, and committing fraud in other ways to create a pattern that should be of concern to people. If this was happening with some organization on the right, I am certain that you would not be defending this practice.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Also, it is interesting that you choose to bring up 35 bogus registrations in Florida. What about the 30,000 illegally registered felons in Florida? Surely that will make a difference in the election.
And what about the 10,000 bad registrations in Texas? Or the 57,435 in Pennsylvania?
October 15th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
“Most of what you say is far from truth.”
According to you, which is fine…I really don’t expect “conservatives” to waste their time with facts…that would get in the way of the blind ideology yanno.
“How do you convict an organization? Was Enron ever convicted?”
Start at the top and work your way down. Enron?
-Kenneth Lay, the former Chairman of the Board & CEO of Enron, and Jeffrey Skilling, the former CEO & COO of Enron were put on trial. Lay died before the U.S. SEC could seek more than $90 million from him in addition to civil fines. Lay & Skilling were both convicted for securities & wire fraud. Skilling was sentenced to 24 years, 4 months in a federal prison, and he was ordered to restore the Enron pension fund with $26 million out-of-pocket.
-Mrs. Linda Lay was cited for insider trading.
-former managing director of investor relations for Enron Paula Rieker pleaded guilty in federal court to a criminal insider trading charge. The one felony charge against Rieker carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. She is due to pay the SEC $499,333.
-former CAO of Enron Richard Causey pleaded guilty to securities fraud, and he will have to serve 7 years in prison & pay $1.25 million to the U.S. govt..
-Enron lobbyist William Roberts pleaded guilty to impersonating Senate staff members during the investigation of Enron.
This is how you label an organization “criminal”. Where are the similiar convictions when it comes to high-ranking ACORN officials?? They don’t exist as far as I can tell.
“If this was happening with some organization on the right, I am certain that you would not be defending this practice.”
I not defending the practive of trying to turn in phony voter registration cards (which again is not “voter fraud”, since it’s the law in many states to hand in suspect voter registration forms), but what the Right-wing is doing all over the country right now is trumping up charges against ACORN based on information that was freely given to them (and flagged by) ACORN itself. The GOP is opposed to almost all registration & new voter initiatves because they fear that the more that people vote, the less likely that their candidates will get elected. There really is nothing to fear from the electoral process IMO.
“What about the 30,000 illegally registered felons in Florida?”
Hey, FL has really, really punitative regulations for convicted felons from both in and out of state. If you read that article all the way through, you’ll see that they are not even able to manage those lists very well whether people are trying to register to vote on their own or not. What about all the people that were intentionally removed from the FL voter rolls without any notifications before the 2000 election?? The firm that was hired to do that work for the state of FL was told to use whatever means they could to get the maximum amount of voters labelled as ineligable to vote. Hmmmm, I wonder why they did that??
“And what about the 10,000 bad registrations in Texas? Or the 57,435 in Pennsylvania?”
Out of 42,695 in TX total, or 153,898 in PA total?? Besides the fact that they were *required* to turn them in, those numbers represent a fraction of the total numbers, and they are not indicative of the total percentage of “bogus” registrations handed in by ACORN nationwide.
What is there to gain really by engaging in this type of behavior?? The workers that do it get immediately fired and turned in to election officials & law-enforcement. There is virtually no chance anyone would be able to vote fraudulently, so there is no reason to deliberately submit phony registrations.