Activists Accused of Voter Registration Fraud
Jim Kouri, CPP
November 06, 2006
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, is once again under scrutiny by elections officials, the public, and the press for apparent voter registration fraud in Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
These accusations are only the most recent in the group's notorious history that includes ties to voter fraud in 12 states, as outlined in a report by the Employment Policies Institute. The most recent accusations of fraud are an unfortunate case of deja vu, as ACORN faced similar accusations of fraud in Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the last two years. So far this election cycle, state elections boards have uncovered the following:
Missouri -- The St. Louis elections director estimated that after investigating 5,000 registrations turned in by ACORN, only 10 to 15 percent were legitimate and it had appeared that names had been copied from the phone book. More egregious violations include registrations for three dead people and one 16 year old.
Kansas City's director of elections said about 3,000 registrations turned in by ACORN included suspicious signatures, underage registrants, and birth dates and Social Security numbers conflicting with state databases.
Ohio -- Franklin County elections director turned over 500 potentially fraudulent cards turned in by ACORN including registrations with signatures in the same handwriting, addresses for vacant lots, and even a registration for a dead person. Similarly suspicious registrations turned up in Summit and Cuyahoga Counties including a fraudulent card submitted by ACORN that led to a 16 year old being registered to vote.
Pennsylvania -- In Philadelphia, the city's voter registration office rejected about 3,000 cards submitted by ACORN because of missing information or invalid addresses. Nearly 100 fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN in Delaware County prompted the District Attorney's Office to issue an identity theft alert.
"The frequency with which ACORN is accused of voter fraud reveals their continual disregard for the law and the elections process," said Mike Flynn, EPI's director of legislative affairs. "Their cavalier disregard for the law undermines the integrity of our voting system."
These accusations are only the most recent in the group's notorious history that includes ties to voter fraud in 12 states, as outlined in a report by the Employment Policies Institute. The most recent accusations of fraud are an unfortunate case of deja vu, as ACORN faced similar accusations of fraud in Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the last two years. So far this election cycle, state elections boards have uncovered the following:
Missouri -- The St. Louis elections director estimated that after investigating 5,000 registrations turned in by ACORN, only 10 to 15 percent were legitimate and it had appeared that names had been copied from the phone book. More egregious violations include registrations for three dead people and one 16 year old.
Kansas City's director of elections said about 3,000 registrations turned in by ACORN included suspicious signatures, underage registrants, and birth dates and Social Security numbers conflicting with state databases.
Ohio -- Franklin County elections director turned over 500 potentially fraudulent cards turned in by ACORN including registrations with signatures in the same handwriting, addresses for vacant lots, and even a registration for a dead person. Similarly suspicious registrations turned up in Summit and Cuyahoga Counties including a fraudulent card submitted by ACORN that led to a 16 year old being registered to vote.
Pennsylvania -- In Philadelphia, the city's voter registration office rejected about 3,000 cards submitted by ACORN because of missing information or invalid addresses. Nearly 100 fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN in Delaware County prompted the District Attorney's Office to issue an identity theft alert.
"The frequency with which ACORN is accused of voter fraud reveals their continual disregard for the law and the elections process," said Mike Flynn, EPI's director of legislative affairs. "Their cavalier disregard for the law undermines the integrity of our voting system."
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