Right Wing Rages Against New Voter Registrations: The ‘Purpose’ Of ACORN Is To Commit ‘Voter Fraud’
Right Wing Rages Against New Voter Registrations: The ‘Purpose’ Of ACORN Is To Commit ‘Voter Fraud’
This week, the New York Times reported that “tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law.” But instead of expressing concern about tens of thousands of potentially disenfranchised citizens, what are conservatives up in arms about? The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which announced that it had registered 1.3 million new voters.
Seizing on a couple of reports of apparently fraudulent voter registrations, conservatives began a chorus of accusations, claiming that the “purpose” of ACORN is to commit “voter fraud.” Watch a compilation:
It’s important to highlight a couple of facts to correct the right-wing rhetoric:
- Fraudulent registration forms do not constitute voter fraud.
Voter fraud only occurs if someone tries to improperly cast a vote. “It’s not voter fraud unless someone shows up at the voting booth on election day and tries to pass himself off as ‘Tony Romo.’ And who would try to do that?” wrote Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL). The Brennan Center for Justice noted that “there are no reports that we have discovered of votes actually cast in the names of [false] registrants.”
- In most states, organizations like ACORN are required by law to turn in every registration card they receive.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, “New Mexico law requires Acorn to turn in all applications, no matter how suspicious-looking, within 48 hours. Elections officials do their own quality control on registrations.” In fact, “under most state laws, voter registration organizations are required to turn in all the forms they receive.” Furthermore, ACORN explained in a statement that “for the past 10 months, any time ACORN has identified a potentially fraudulent application, we turn that application into election officials separately and offer to provide election officials with the information they would need to pursue an investigation or prosecution of the individual.”
When a department store calls the police to report a shoplifting employee, no one says the department store is guilty of consumer fraud. The same principle applies here. The small number of staffers who have submitted fraudulent forms are violating ACORN’s mission. Anyone caught defrauding should be prosecuted, and ACORN says it is assisting in that effort. ACORN should work harder to catch these employees and ensure that they are held responsible.
After years of enacting policies catering to the wealthy, the right-wing seems to be fearful of millions of new low-income voters casting their ballot in favor of progressive policies.
Cross posted at The Wonk Room.
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Except, no one can ever cite a single case of voter fraud in the modern era.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pmDamn it! I always miss the real purposes behind things.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:14 pmTP just threw a wrench in their machine.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:18 pmCould it be that Republican operatives are the ones submitting suspicious registration forms in order to make ACORN look bad?
Nah, they’d never stoop so low as to try something like that.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:19 pmThanks, BNF.
You beat me by two minutes! I am old and slow anyway so keep up the good work.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:23 pmThis is another smoke screen for their scrubbing the voting registers. There is not a problem with voter fraud but there is a problem with them stealing elections.
If this low level lying group of people would spend one tenth the time they spend on bs on real issues, they might be in this race. The economy is crumbling around them, due to McSame’s insane policies for the past twenty six years, and we are blowing our load in Iraq each and every month unnecessarily and these jokers can only come up with fraternity tricks for their campaign? Come on. Is this all you have, morons?
October 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pmWould it sound like I was wearing a tin foil hat if I suggested that right wing operatives could actually file improper voter registrations with ACORN employees in order to make the group look bad?
October 10th, 2008 at 7:31 pmAt least ACORN is out there trying to get a win.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:31 pmThere is no voter fraud going on, Repubs. Your October surprise is the slop inside a pumpkin.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:33 pmAfter years of enacting policies catering to the wealthy, the right-wing seems to be fearful of millions of new low-income voters casting their ballot in favor of progressive policies.
We can only hope that this is true!
October 10th, 2008 at 7:34 pmCrusty Old Bastard Says:
I am old and slow anyway so keep up the good work.
Obviously being old and slow does not seem to have affected your intelligence.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:36 pmWhy do these get covered in the corporate media and the very real efforts by Republicans to suppress the votes by caging lists don’t?
October 10th, 2008 at 7:40 pmI sent up “membership” on McNumbNuts’ website just so I could be a “troll” on the message boards. I used a pseudo email address and now I am getting all kinds of campaign spam from these idiots. It is really fun to reply to them with snide remarks. Here is the crapola they sent tonight (along with my response — I changed the more colorful words so that this doesn’t end up in “moderation limbo”):
—–Original Message—–
From: McCain-Palin Team
Sent: Oct 10, 2008 6:30 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: New video – ACORN
Dear Supporter,
Our campaign just released a new web video detailing the ties between Senator Barack Obama and ACORN, the organization currently under investigation for massive voter fraud in a number of battleground states.
Please follow this link to watch “ACORN.”
As a result of Senator Obama’s blind ambition, he has a long history with the group. Barack Obama trained members of the Chicago ACORN staff, and his campaign has paid more than $800,000 for “voter registration” to an ACORN front group.
We’re asking you to take a few minutes this evening to watch the ad and learn more about the relationship between Senator Barack Obama and ACORN.
After watching the video, please forward along to at least five others. It’s up to us to hold Senator Obama accountable for his questionable judgment and blind ambition.
Thank you,
The McCain-Palin 2008 Team
—————my response——————–
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
To: McCain-Palin Team
Subject: Re: New video – ACORN
Date: Oct 10, 2008 7:35 PM
Stop peddling this b*llsh*t! Don’t you know that, in many states, ACORN is obligated to turn in all new voter registrations that they receive? Don’t you know that ACORN generally will separate suspicious registrations when turning over registrations in those states so that prosecution can be pursued? Don’t you know that, when an ACORN worker is found to be creating fraudulent registrations, they are fired immediately? Don’t you understand the difference between a voter registration and voting?
I think you know these things. I think you are merely trying to stir up more fears and smears. And you are likely trying to lay a phoney basis for appealing election results when republicans are drowned all over the country because Unstable/Unable will lose the presidential election in a landslide.
Have you no shame? Why are you so unpatriotic as to create all this hostility and fear. I am voting for Obama. I would rather have a leader with vision than a political opportunist who creates only division.
I usually close my replies to you with “sincerely” but I am past the point of being civil with you morons so
Go to h*ll — XX
October 10th, 2008 at 7:47 pmSeizing on a couple of reports of apparently fraudulent voter registrations, conservatives began a chorus of accusations, claiming that the “purpose” of ACORN is to commit “voter fraud.”
Well, I suppose it’s only fair that that’s ACORN’s purpose — after all, the “purpose” of the Republican Party is to steal elections, destroy functioning economies, invade middle eastern nations, torture prisoners, spy on American citizens…
Oh, and most of all — incite murder-threatening riots at campaign rallies.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:49 pmTom — nice touch, but how long, you think, until they block your pseudo email address or ISP address from posting to their crappy little website?
October 10th, 2008 at 7:51 pmAnd the lying liars are getting very desperate now that they sense that they are going to lose big time come November….by the way, it is REPUBLICANS who have rigged the 2000 and 2004 elections….they are of course SCUM as usual.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:52 pmhow long, you think, until they block your pseudo email address or ISP address from posting to their crappy little website?
I have been doing this to these weasels for about three weeks and haven’t gotten any “bounce-back” email return alerts. In fact, in a couple of cases, they were even stupid enough to respond to some of my replies.
This has been a “guilty little pleasure” for me . . . actually rather cathartic. lol
October 10th, 2008 at 7:55 pmFor the complete story on ACORN, go here:
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/acorn_rallies_its_troops.php
Please pass this around to stop this smear on ACORN. They become the GOP boogey man with every election and this one is no exception.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:07 pm#Briseadh na Faire Says:
Could it be that Republican operatives are the ones submitting suspicious registration forms in order to make ACORN look bad?
Nah, they’d never stoop so low as to try something like that.
But they would stoop to running a voter registration drive and tearing up all the applications where the person registered as a Democrat. There numerous reports of this happening.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:08 pmOnly the wacko Right cares. But they aren’t going to let go of power easily. This is gonna get worse before Nov 4. And they need to be CRUSHED into oblivion on that day.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:10 pmA man at the center of a voter-registration scandal told The Post yesterday he was given cash and cigarettes by aggressive ACORN activists in exchange for registering an astonishing 72 times, in apparent violation of Ohio laws.
From Malkin’s site. First of all, what would that gain? The person would only be allowed to vote once. You don’t think if the poll worker saw his name 72 times, they wouldn’t do something about it. Second of all, why would an ACORN worker even do that. They are paid by the hour, not by the registration so there would be no motive for them to sign up one person 72 times.
It’s more likely that the person Malkin is referring to either doesn’t exist or is a paid operative for the McCain campaign.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:14 pm#marwick Says:
At least ACORN is out there trying to get a win.
You really expect us to believe something that is posted on Michelle Malkin’s site? We’re not that stupid. Why don’t you peddle your drivel at redstate.com? They like people like you, we don’t.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:16 pmThe repukes are raging to divert attention from the fact THEY ARE COMMITTING MASSIVE ELECTION FRAUD.
Someone on AAR, I think Bill Press,stated that he heard a group of republicans laughing over the election fraud at a party…. that election ‘00 and ‘04 was stolen and it is common knowledge.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:27 pmThe report has been released: Palin abused the powers of the governor’s office…
Sorry for the OT
October 10th, 2008 at 8:31 pmhey! THANKS for this, TP!
i’ll be back later – just refreshed to see if you heard the
BREAKING NEWS about the PALIN ABUSE OF POWER announcement.
!
October 10th, 2008 at 8:31 pmOK kiddos, it might be “Friday news dump” … it’s time for us to make this the news of the weekend and next week:
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/552393.html
“Troopergate report: Palin abused power
Troopergate report: Palin abused power
Troopergate report: Palin abused power
Troopergate report: Palin abused power
Troopergate report: Palin abused power”
October 10th, 2008 at 8:36 pmAt this point, it’s all about creating a political atmosphere so highly-charged, if Obama does win, he won’t be able to pass any part of his agenda.
They know they’re about to lose on a historically monumentous scale, but if they threaten to impede Obama’s legislative progress, he’ll roll over and play nice like Clinton, with the Contract With America bunch.
And after Obama’s FISA pivot, they might be right.
October 10th, 2008 at 8:41 pmCurse those evil Republicans that feed on hate, fear, lies, corruption and intimidation!
“Voter ID laws a GOP tactic of cynicism”
“The GOP’s brand is in tatters, dragged down by an incompetent president, an unpopular war and a sickly economy. So the party seems to be pinning its hopes on keeping likely Democrats — people of color, the poor, college students — away from the polls.
But that tactic seems unlikely to be enough to prevent Democrats from gaining seats in Congress, if not the White House. Democrats are registering in record numbers, and the GOP can’t intimidate or eliminate enough of them to make a difference.
The stench of corruption and cynicism emanating from the effort to disenfranchise voters is finally too heavy to ignore. The GOP is just ensuring that the tarnish on its brand becomes permanent.”
October 10th, 2008 at 8:41 pmWhy am I sure that many of the suspect registrations were filled out by McCain/Rethug operatives and designed to put a nut in the machine (and duly turned into county officials flagged as suspicious by ACORN). This is a massive operation to deny the vote to millions.
October 10th, 2008 at 9:22 pmhere’s the link…
“Voter ID laws a GOP tactic of cynicism
Sunday, October 05, 2008
The base of the Republican Party — a dwindling but still significant group — clings to a handful of pseudo-facts that don’t hold up to serious scrutiny but that still occupy a central place in GOP ideology. Those include the assertion that Saddam Hussein represented a threat to the United States, that affirmative action in lending led to the mortgage crisis and that voter fraud is a serious problem in modern elections.
In campaign seasons such as this, when victory may turn on a handful of votes, none of those claims is more important to Republican activists than overhyped allegations of voter fraud.
CYNTHIA TUCKER
MY OPINION
Cynthia Tucker
• E-mail Tucker
Recent columns:
* Credit junkies hooked first by out-of-control consumerism
* Preachers need to read Bill of Rights
* Voter ID laws a GOP tactic of cynicism
* Palin either too green or a genius actress
* Credit crisis: Melting pot of problems
* Troy Davis may be innocent
* Sarah Palin: Cheney with a moose gun
During the past decade, GOP-dominated state legislatures across the country have used assertions of mischief at the ballot box to push through harsh voter ID laws. Republican strategists have also pushed prosecutors to go after allegedly fraudulent voters.
Those GOP strategists know better: One study after another has shown that voter fraud is, at worst, extremely rare. And the sort of in-person fraud that would be prevented by stiff voter ID laws is virtually nonexistent. But Karl Rove and his minions also know this: Voter ID laws can be used to disenfranchise a few hundred or a few thousand voters who are more likely to vote Democratic, usually poor or elderly voters who don’t have driver’s licenses. In close races, shaving off 1 or 2 percentage points is all you need to claim victory.
A recently unearthed e-mail from a Republican strategist in New Mexico shows the unbridled cynicism that underlies claims about fraudulent voting. Patrick Rogers, former lawyer for the New Mexico Republican Party, was among the party hacks pushing for criminal investigations into alleged voter fraud. He clearly was hoping that the threat of legal sanctions would intimidate Democrats and aid Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), who was in a tight race for re-election. According to a new report from the U.S. Justice Department’s inspector general, Rogers wrote in September 2004:
“I believe the [voter] ID issue should be used at all levels — federal, state legislative races and Heather’s race. … You are not going to find a better wedge issue. … This is the single best wedge issue, ever in [New Mexico].””
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tucker/stories/2008/10/05/tucked_1005.html
October 10th, 2008 at 9:38 pmAs I was flipping through the channels the other morning I happened to stop on Faux News and there was a middle aged black man there and I picked up on the subject of voter fraud.
I though I’d stay more than the 30 seconds that I usually give Faux New to hear what this gentleman had to say. He was talking about ACORN flooding the Cleveland area with thousands of fraudulent voter registrations and how no one was doing anythin to stop it and he concluded that the Democratic SoS in Ohio was attempting to steal the election away from John McCain.
As he was speaking they flashed his name up on the screen and I almost spit out my coffee onto the table.
It was Kenneth Blackwell, former SoS of Ohio that stole the Ohio vote for the shrub in 2004 by assigning polling machines in Repug districts at a ratio of 100 voter per machine and in blue collar primarily Dem urban neighborhoods at a ratio of 1000 voters per machine which lead to standing in eight hour lines in the rain if you were inclinded to vote for Kerry
I though, who better to explain what could happen then one who had successfully stole an election.
Now Election fraud is a Hot Button with me, I don’t call it “Dirty Tricks”, I don’t call it “Shenanigans”, I call it what it is. Election fraud which to my mind is tantamount to treason! I’m a mild mannered man, but if I ever found out my vote was changed, or not counted or my ability to cast a vote were ever impeded, I’d find the SOB that did it and put that individual in a hurt to were they would be confessing to the police just so the cops would throw them in jail to keep me away from them.
The repug try to surpress the Dem vote because there are more Dems than Repugs and the Repugs try to handicap the elections because they can’t win on ideas or on numbers. So they cheat.
The other thing, as we have seen this last year, is place political hacks in the USA’s in select “Battleground” states to prevent any legal challanges to the election fraud making its way to court. They steal election, and when the Dems seek legal recourse, it’s shut down before it ever sees a courtroom.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If ever we were to lose our freedoms and liberties and our country, it will first happen through the corruption of our Justice system. We lose the Justice system, we have no law.
October 10th, 2008 at 9:43 pmI’m sorry but if I remember correctly it’s been the Republicans who have disenfranchised and used voter FRAUD the past two Presidential Elections. First in Florida, then in Ohio. Just a coincidence that 92,000 mostly minority democrat voters were disenfranchised in 2000 because they had similar names and/or birthdays to convicted felons. Just a coincidence that the SoS in Florida was chairmen of the Bush campaign and the governor was George’s brother. Just a coincidence in 2004 that voters in predominantly democratic and minority areas were given 125 LESS voting machines even though SoS knew there were thousands of newly registered voters. Just a coincidence if you went to the wrong precinct or even the wrong line in the right precinct, your vote were forced to vote provisional and your ballot was not counted. Just a coincidence that SoS Ken Blackwell was chairmen of the Bush campaign.
Learn more from my professor:
October 10th, 2008 at 11:14 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOGEYMt0_I
barfly Says:
At this point, it’s all about creating a political atmosphere so highly-charged, if Obama does win, he won’t be able to pass any part of his agenda.
How are they going to be able to stock Obama from passing his agenda. They are within shouting distance of having a filibuster proof majority in the Senate and stand to gain another 40 seats in the House. Even if the Democrats don’t have a filibuster proof majority, they will be close and it will be really hard for the Republicans to pull the kind of shenanigans they have been pulling for the last two years.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:36 amThe Republican Party is a criminal organization. No one should be surprised that they act like one. Republicans should be jailed as subversives.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:18 amIt is hard to fathom how a lucid person can call anyone in general and Republicans in particular “subversive” or “criminal” for wanting to make sure that votes are legitimately cast. Of course, if the votes in question support your man, then I guess the ends justify the means. NOT!
Most likely the insults help assuage the intellectual dishonesty. By denigrating someone you can then feel superior to them and their ideas and therefore you must be right. NOT!
Nobama Bad for the Economy, Bad for America!
October 11th, 2008 at 8:27 amWhy is it that the truth has such a hard time getting heard while the lied get shouted from the roof top over and over again. We don’t need a megaphone for the lies; we need a megaphone for the truth. Are you listening MSM?
October 11th, 2008 at 9:10 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEzY2tnwExs
Tom Feeney??? Really? POS—-all this ACORN business is just unbelievable—saw Lou Dobbs talkin’ up the outrage on ACORN..funny corporate news wont mention Feeeney & Diebold or Rove and voter caging e-mails—go spend some time on the Bradbolg to see how this election is really being stolen.
October 11th, 2008 at 3:07 pmIt is a law that all ballots be turned in. The ballots that the canvassers make themselves, or fake, or obtain properly all must be turned in – it is the law. Acorn turned in three – three – stacks of ballots. one stack was ok, one stack looked ok, but needed review, and one stack marked suspicious. Why would they knowingly separate the stacks of ballots if they wanted to ‘taint’ the process? The only party which has a history of ballot issues is the GOP. The right side doesn’t care if they have to cheat to win – just so they win.
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