ACORN: Official Thread

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by fanaticbuckeye

Is registering many, many, many times to vote for your candidate criminal? Or how about unethical?

Well, are we talking BCS here?

[CookyPuss]

ACORN Rallies Its Troops - Marc Ambinder

It's true, as Ben Smith notes, that Bugs Bunny and other imaginary voters can't imaginably show up at polling precincts and vote, but Republican complaints, to the extent that they are legitimate, are different. It's the rush of voter registrations at the end of the cycle, a rush which leaves election supervisors in the untenable position of having to very quickly decide whether applications are valid or not. Often, bad applications get through. Critics of ACORN wonder: why are fraudulent applications submitted in the first place? It's the system; you pay people to turn in as many voter registration cards as possible, you invite people who want more money to submit false forms. Critics also wonder: why aren't more people -- read the media -- covering this? After all, incidences of fraud are rampant, with official investigations launched in 12 states. Now -- "rampant" might not be the best adjective. Voter registration cards aren't the property of ACORN or any other group, and ACORN is required by law to turn in every completed form -- even if they're obviously fraudulent. ACORN insists it has procedures in place to flag these forms, but you can't blame supervisors of elections from throwing up their hands when they come in.

Even some Democratic groups are wary, not because they think ACORN's doing bad work, but because the sheer size of ACORN's operation lends itself to individuals who can easily game the system, and because the focus on ACORN increases the scrutiny of their own work. It's clear that there's extraordinary interest in this election, and huge amounts of new voters are entering the system, and, sorry Republicans, they're not...Republicans.

These October protests seem like a logical place for conservative activists to hold and nurture their grievances about the political environment. Call it galling, for example, that ACORN's voter reg. projects are nominally non-partisan, when, in point of fact, the places they go and the things they do seem to help Democrats disproportionately. Galling, but conservative groups can set up voter reg. organizations like this if they want.

I thought this is a fair assessment on the issue, the full post includes an internal ACORN memo with their talking points.

[billmac91]

Originally Posted by fanaticbuckeye

Is registering many, many, many times to vote for your candidate criminal? Or how about unethical?

I'd say its unethical as a worker of ACORN, in a sense that it skews pre-vote polls.

I've already heard from numerous pundits on TV, how many more voters are registered to democrat organizations. In North Carolina it is 6 to 1. Obviously, they have done a better job at getting voters to register, but how many may be 'fraudulent' names that will not vote come election day? As the article Muck has linked several times, it is one thing to register a fake name, and another for a fake name to come in and cast a vote.

[BrutuStrength]

Originally Posted by Gatorubet

Well, bribing, yeah....but registering folks to vote for your guy is not even unethical, let alone criminal.

A minor problem is that Acorn status claims to be nonpartisan, which clearly isn't the case. If they're not nonpartisan then they should be upfront about it, IMHO (maybe just a pet peeve thing).

For some reason I was thinking that their organizational status required them to actually be non-partisan. I can't remember exactly why I was thinking that, maybe I thought it had something to do with their tax status or funding. It may have just been a concern of mine while there was talk that they might get funding as part of the original bail-out bill.

Whatever the reason, it's been a crazy week for me personally, so I could have easily confused a few items in this regard.

[Bucky Katt]

I'm 100% in favor of voter fraud. Otherwise, Bucky and Fungo would only get one vote total. This way, Fungo gets to cancels out Bucky's vote.

Originally Posted by BrutuStrength

A minor problem is that Acorn status claims to be nonpartisan, which clearly isn't the case. If they're not nonpartisan then they should be upfront about it, IMHO (maybe just a pet peeve thing)

Absolutely agree.

[cincibuck]

Has any one suggested that placing more voting machines per voter in some precincts and fewer per voter in others is fraudalant? Let's say you made sure that more voting machines were placed in suburban polls than in urban, would that be fradulant ad unethical? Let's say that the polls in those same suburban districts were able to close at 6:30 with all voters able to cast votes that wanted to vote, while just a mile or two away voters had to stand in line for anywhere from two to ten hours and many were sent away before ever having a chance to vote; would that be fraudulant and unethical?

The fact is that in a republic the vote is critical and Acorn's behaviors are unethical and fraudulant, as are those of former Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell. We need an election system where voting booths are assigned in numbers that allow all to vote in a twelve hour time block. And while we're at it, let's get rid of the electoral college and follow re-districting policies that bring us back to open and fair elections for all congressional seats.

Bringing democracy to Iraq? Hell, let's just bring it to Ohio.

[Wingate1217]

Don't think we have a problem in this country with voter fraud....then read this....

Local 2 Investigates Dead Voters - Local 2 Investigates News Story - KPRC Houston

HOUSTON -- Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of an Investigators story that aired on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2008, on KPRC Local 2 at 10 p.m.

Local 2 investigates dead voters.

The push to register voters for this year's presidential election breaking records. More than 1.9 million people are registered to vote in Harris County alone.

But how many of the people listed on the voter roll are actually eligible to cast a ballot?

Investigative reporter Amy Davis shows you how hundreds of voters could sway this year's election -- voters who are not even alive.

"All-in-all, a great person, a great woman, just a wonderful person" is how Alexis Guidry described her mother to Local 2 Investigates.

"As far back as I can remember, they've always voted in the election," Guidry said of her parents.

The March 2008 Primary was no exception. Voting records show Alexis' mom, Gloria Guidry, cast her ballot in person near her South Houston home.

"It was just very shocking, a little unsettling," said Alexis Guidry.

It's unsettling because Gloria Guidry died of cancer 10 months before the March Primary.

"She'd be very upset," Guidry said when asked what her mom would think.

Trent Seibert, of Texas Watchdog, says you should be too.

"This is really disquieting. It's concerning. It's worrisome," said Seibert.

He heads up the non-partisan news group on the web.

Texas Watchdog compared Harris County's voter registration roll with the Social Security death index and found more than 4,000 matches -- registered voters that, it appears, are already dead.

Some of them, like Henderson Hill's late wife Linda, voted postmortem.

[JXC]

To think there hasn't been voter fraud in every election on both sides of the ticket for every past election is rediculous. The difference now, is that we are really starting to catch it now, and more aware. I think that's a good thing. One person, one vote, I don't care who wins the election as long as it's as fair as it can be.

[Wingate1217]

I just heard on the radio here in Charlotte that Barack Obama's campaign has just admitted that they paid ACORN $1 million to sign folks up to vote.....

Anyone else heard this?????

[scooter1369]

Interesting postcard arrived in the mail today for Mrs. Scooter.

this is simply despicable.

[Bucklion]

This Acorn [censored] will be the right's rallying cry, and it will be as strong as the racial cry would be from the left if Obama lost. Obama may be a lot of things, but a uniter he won't (and can't) be. No one can. No one.

[generaladm]

Originally Posted by scooter1369

Interesting postcard arrived in the mail today for Mrs. Scooter.

this is simply despicable.

Postcard stamps are up to 27 cents? That is despicable!

[Jake]

Speaking of ACORN, CNN did an interesting expose' on their responsibility in the mortgage crisis...and how ACORN is going to make a fortune on the bailout.

ACORN - Google Video

BTW, I see some folks trying to defend ACORN's registration practices. They have a history of CONVICTIONS for VOTER FRAUD. It's not just "registering many times".

[jimotis4heisman]

Originally Posted by scooter1369

Interesting postcard arrived in the mail today for Mrs. Scooter.

this is simply despicable.

my household has received over $100 worth of pro obama/anti mccain mail based on postage. after the election ill add up the final totals. but if you ask me unreal...

[kinch]

Originally Posted by Wingate1217

You talked about not enough polling places and voting booths and those are controlled at the county level (I believe?) in most states. I am not denying that some of the things you discussed are not happening but it is hardly one-sided with voter fraud, intimidation and the like......

(emphasis added)

My point exactly.