This is nuts, right? (Pun . . . present.) Earlier this week, the Las Vegas offices of the ACORN organization were raided looking for evidence of voter fraud and now the organization's voter registration drives are being investigated in at least half dozen states. In Connecticut, one Republican registrar of voters called to check out a suspicious registration, only to get the hopeful voter's mom on the phone — and to find out that the voter in question is only 12 years old. The RNC says, "This is a group that has tried to undermine and subvert our election system and laws by flooding local election officials with fraudulent cards."
In a claim hanging from the same tree, officials in Indiana say that 2,000 registration forms filled out in conjunction with the group are fundamentally suspect. Delivered just before the deadline to register, one member of the Elections Board says, "All the signatures looked exactly the same. Everything on the card filled out looks exactly the same." In Missouri, similar scrutiny, with one official saying, "We have identified about 100 duplicates, and probably 280 addresses that don't exist, people who have driver's license numbers that won't verify or Social Security numbers that won't verify. Some have no address at all." ACORN workers have pleaded guilty for election fraud in the state before.
The crux of the situation is complicated, with both sides claiming high stakes. Is the question of Obama's involvement in the controversy (one adamantly refuted by his campaign despite an apparent $800,000 contribution) distracting from the fact it's happening at all? Would removing the partisan aspect make the argument stronger — or does the blame fall square in Obama's lap?
This organization makes a mockery out of the whole election process.
1