ACORN - 1-1.5% fraudulent registrations, Calif Republican Party - up to 60%

[JohnWxy]

From SourceWatch.com:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ACORN_and_elections


Of the 1.3 million voter registrations filed by the ACORN/Project Vote efforts in 2008, Project Vote's director Michael Slater estimates<18> that

450,000 were new registrations
450,000 were changes of address
20-25% (260,000-325,000) were duplicates
5% (65,000) were incomplete

1-1.5% (13,000-19,500) were fraudulent


ACORN's investigations found 9,000 questionable registrations, and a lawyer for the group estimated that another 5,000-6,000 additional questionable registrations were turned in <18>, for an estimated undetected error rate of .4-.5%.


ACORN compared to other voter registration efforts.....

Other mass-registration drives have had similar, if not worse problems. In 2006, the California Republican Party experienced problems with fake names on registrations, with an error rate as high as 60 percent.<20><21>



2008 vote fraud accusations...

During the 2008 Presidential election conservatives repeatedly accused ACORN of "voter fraud." These accusations had the appearance of a coordinated campaign. Though actual voter fraud involves knowingly casting an illegal ballot, these accusations occurred before any voting had occurred.

{NOTE: YOU CANNOT HAVE AN INSTANCE OF VOTER FRAUD UNTIL SOMEONE ACTUALLY CASTS A BALLOT AND IS NOT THE PERSON HE CLAIMS TO BE!__JW}


Conservatives charged that ACORN was intentionally submitting these "fraudulent" applications as part of scheme to "rig" the election, where the problematic registrations would enable people to vote multiple times.<1> ACORN stated that they have quality-control procedures and that registration gatherers are required to flag questionable applications so election officials will know they are suspect, but they were required by law to turn in all registration forms they receive.



Vote fraud in the U.S. ...

The actual incidence of vote fraud in the United States is extremely low. According to one study, "from 2002 to 2005 only one person was found guilty of registration fraud. Twenty people were found guilty of voting while ineligible and five people were found guilty of voting more than once."<22>




The {notorious_JW} Nevada raid....

On October 7, 2008, after weeks of news reports of accusations by Republicans of improper voter registrations, Nevada state authorities raided the Las Vegas offices of ACORN, looking for evidence of voter fraud.<4> The raid was "the result of a joint investigation by state agencies, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation."<5> The state alleged that "ACORN had hired 59 felons through a work release program as canvassers and submitted nearly 300 apparently fraudulent voter registration cards as part of the drive." According to one press report<6>,


"ACORN officials said they were stunned by the search because they had unilaterally identified and flagged suspicious voter registration cards to the county elections board starting in July and had been cooperating with authorities to cull bad information and fire workers who collected that information, said Brian Mellor, senior counsel for Project Vote."

No evidence of voter fraud was found in the raid and no charges were filed. (..BUT! IT was reported and that's all that mattered _JW)

THE RAID WAS ANOTHER CASE OF THE FASCISTS (really, there is no better descriptive term_JW) STAGING A MEDIA EVENT WITH THE COMPLICITY OF DUPES OR LIKE MINDED FEDERAL OFFICIALS IN THE FBI. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT REASONABLE CAUSE THEY PRESENTED TO WHICH JUDGE TO OBTAIN A SEARCH WARRANT_JW

This is another tactic of the fascists, create the impression in the somnabulant public's mind that an person or organization is up to no good. ACORN had been flagging questionable registrations and was working witht the elections board. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE FUCKING RAID. TO CREATE AN IMPRESSION.

IF THEY DID NOT HAVE A REASONABLE CAUSE TO SUSPECT A CRIME WAS ABOUT TO BE COMMITTED OR THAT ACORN WAS GUILTY OR COMPLICIT IN THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME, THE FBI, AND THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BROKE THE FUCKING LAW.

THEY ARE THE ONES WHO SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.

[drm604]

1. K&R

We cannot roll over and play dead on this ACORN thing. Check out and rec this other thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6576332

[JohnWxy]

3. It of course is rediculous that the HOuse and SEnate voted to cut funding on nothing but a

video from a voter supression partisan.

ACORN had hired 13,000 temporary workers in 2008 to register voters, I don't know how many employees they have in the non election season but my guess is one employee who did something wrong (was a crime committed?) does not mean whatever they did was a policy of the organization. Let's get real here.


Here is a link to the ACORN site with a list of some of their nefarious activities: http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12341


Affordable Housing ACORN is working to make affordable housing available so people in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods can be homeowners. ACORN members demand more rehabilitation programs aimed at developing affordable housing and increased production of affordable housing.

Better Schools
....(yeah, look at that kid. He sure looks suspicious. BEtter WATCH OUT for him!!!__JW)

All children deserve a quality education. The better their education is the more likely they will be able to enjoy a great quality of life. Parents' hard earned tax dollars are used to finance the public school system so their offspring should reap the benefits. ACORN members have been working to implement a platform to improve the quality of public schools.

Fair Housing

ACORN Fair Housing is a federally funded program through the Office of Housing and Urban Development’s(HUD) Fair Housing Initiatives Program ( FHIP) grant. It is our mission to prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing practices. ACORN Fair Housing Organization works to ensure equal housing opportunity by providing a variety of services through outreach, education and enforcement.

ACORN Fair Housing, while an independent organization , has it’s beginnings as part of ACORN, a 38 year old community activist organization.

Fair Tax Fees

For the last two years ACORN members have been waging a campaign against Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs). RALs are short-term loans with triple-digit interest rates that are marketed extremely aggressively to low-income families. Customers are often charged over $150, on top of the regular tax prep fees, just get to their own tax dollars back a week or so faster than they otherwise would.

ACORN’s campaign has attacked RALs in several ways, such as directly targeting tax preparers to change their practices, conducting door-to-door outreach to warn families about the high costs of RALs, operating VITA sites which offer free tax preparation, and working for legislation on the city, state, and federal level to protect consumers.


Foreclosures

Predatory lending has ignited a wildfire of foreclosures across the United States. Foreclosures don’t just hurt individuals and families, they hurt entire neighborhoods and communities, leaving homes abandoned and vulnerable to vagrancy and crime.

No other organization has fought harder to increase access to credit for low-income and minority families than ACORN, but predatory lending is threatening to reverse the progress we have made. Beginning in the 1980s, ACORN fought against redlining and discrimination and for greater community investment. ACORN Housing was founded to provide free education and counseling to help low-income people become homeowners.

Gulf Coast Recovery

Hurricane Katrina's winds had hardly subsided before ACORN began organizing New Orleaneans to rebuild their beloved city on their own terms. Today, ACORN's national headquarters in New Orleans houses more staffers than ever and ACORN members are fighting to ensure the city's recovery. Though thousands of Katrina survivors are still displaced, the last year has seen a series of significant wins for ACORN in New Orleans and the struggle continues to fully resurrect the Crescent City.


Health Care


Some 45 million people across the U.S. have no health insurance, with many more lacking adequate coverage. ACORN members are working to achieve affordable health care for all. Work is currently underway to get more hospitals to institute “charity care," or free care, programs and discounts. These policies can eliminate or reduce, hospital bills for families with low-and-moderate incomes. They often suffer from being uninsured or underinsured.


Living Wage

ACORN’s 2006 election campaign, "Raise the Minimum Wage," represented unprecedented victory for working families.

May 24, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 348-73 to approve a measure raising the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over the next three years. The Senate approved the increase, giving low-wage workers their first boost in a decade.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is much more.

Well, I can see how the Republicans would hate this group. --- look at it, there doesn't appear to be one millionaire banker in the whole lot of 'em. SHIT what's this? Common people helping people. shit! we got protect ourselves from THAT.

You wouldn't want any DEMOCRATIC (small "d") ideas being spread around. This is definitely a dangerous group!

Yeah, I think I'll call them up and see if there is something I can do to help out ..more than just give money. SHUCKS, I LIKE ANY GROUP REPUBLICANS HATE :fistbump:

[SharonAnn]

8. Here's what real "voter fraud" looks like. President of TN Fed. of Republican Women

http://www.nashvillepost.com/news?id=25679

GOP leader arrested by TBI for voter fraud
President of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women
By Ken Whitehouse

Shirley Ward
08-25-2006 11:55 AM —
Shirley Ward, president of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women, has turned herself in
to authorities and has been arrested on charges of voter fraud by the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation, according to department spokesperson Jennifer Johnson.
Ward, a Tipton County resident, has been charged with knowingly voting in the wrong district
for a Tipton County Commission race. While Johnson could not say which County Commission
seat was affected, she said the winner of the race had won by one vote.
A call to the Tipton County Election Commission confirmed that the August 3 election for
Tipton County Commission race, District 2, between John Arnold McIntyre Jr. and Billy Dan
Huggins was decided by one vote. McIntyre was the victor in the non-partisan race.
Ward was elected president of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women in 2005 and has
a long history in Republican politics. According to her biography on the organization's website,
she has served as deputy chairman of "W Stands for Women," county chairman for Senator Bill
Frist and Van Hilleary and co-chairman for the Bush/Cheney campaigns of 2000 and 2004. She
has also served as the financial director for TeamGOP.org, an organization that is run by her son,
Jeff Ward.
She has also been named "Woman of the Year" by the Tipton County Republican Women's club
and serves on the statewide "Tennessee GOP Development Council in 2005."

[Old and In the Way]

2. ACORN's crime -

enrolling poor/under-represented people to vote. Had they had a fleet of lobbyists supplying millions to Congressional campaigns, this never would have been an issue. Truly a sad day for Democrats in Congress who are spineless in standing up for what's right.

[JohnWxy]

4. I'm going to send an email to my Senators and Congressman about this. This was asinine.

I think if people were informed about what ACORN is, the Republican efforts at voter suppression would become more obvious to people.

Thanks to Corporate media, the only thing people hear about ACORN are these pseudo events that the fascist voter suppressionists create. ONce again, the Republicans are driving a disinformation campaign knowing that the media will cooperate and only report headlines.

Just like the raid in Nevada. I remember when that was reported and I kept waiting and as I suspected nothing came of it because they had no real reason to raid them. Another pseudo-event for media 'play'. The fascists of the Corporate Lobbyist Party knew the lack of any charges coming out of it would never be reported. That doesn't get media 'play'.

[BootinUp]

5. Yell it from the roof tops~!

no surprise here though.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, JohnWxy.

[NJmaverick]

7. big kick