Liberal group ACORN up to their election year tricks again

This is not the first time, and it won’t be the last. Via AP:

ST. LOUIS – Election officials say hundreds of potentially bogus registration cards, including ones for dead and underage people, were submitted by a branch of a national group that has been criticized in the past for similar offenses.

At least 1,500 potentially fraudulent registration cards were turned in by the St. Louis branch of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, leading up to Wednesday’s registration deadline for the Nov. 7 election, said Kim Mathis, chairwoman of the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissioners.

Invalid registrations solicited by ACORN workers included duplicate or incomplete ones, a 16-year-old voter, dead people registering, and forged signatures, Mathis said.

“Fifteen hundred may not sound like a lot, but it is a big deal and it disenfranchises the election process,” she said. “It’s time someone be prosecuted. There’s a lot of taxpayer dollars being wasted on this.”

ST Flashback: Hillary Clinton met with the national ACORN back in July. Here’s what she had to say:

When Nov. 7 rolls around, Ohioans should “watch this election like a hawk,” Sen. Hillary Clinton said at a Columbus conference yesterday.

“Don’t let them pull anything over your eyes again,” Clinton said, apparently referring to voting and vote-counting disputes that erupted in Ohio in the 2004 presidential election.

Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York, wife of the former president and a potential presidential candidate herself in 2008, wowed a standing-room-only crowd at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now convention in Ohio State University’s Mershon Auditorium.

Time after time, Clinton’s remarks were drowned out by applause and cheers from the 2,700 members of the national organization representing low- and moderate-income families on social-justice issues.

At the end of her 17-minute speech, Clinton was besieged by autograph-seekers who thrust ACORN cap visors and programs at her to sign.

I’m sure any day now the Senator, who seemed oh-so-sincere about alleged incidents of voter fraud back in July will be firing off a letter to ACORN’s national leaders condemning the latest instance of fraud committed in by ACORN, this time the St. Louis chapter. I wonder if she was aware while she was making her speach in Ohio back in July that several ACORN locations there had, uh, shall we say “issues” with voter fraud that are well documented:

ACORN And Other Group Registrations In Franklin County, Ohio, Include Dead Person, 25 Addresses For The Same Man, And Suspected Terrorist. “Hundreds of cases of suspected election fraud are under review in Franklin County. … One application being examined was signed in the name of a man who passed away in February. Another 25 applications show different addresses for the same man. Six of the suspicious forms were submitted by representatives of the Columbus Urban League, while 62 others came from ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. … And you might recognize the name of Nuradin Abdi. He’s a native of Somalia charged with plotting to blow up a Columbus mall. ‘As far as board of elections is concerned, Abdi is a registered voter,’ board of elections director Matt Damschroeder said. We now know according to federal officials, he’s an illegal alien. That would mean he can’t legally vote. But the Franklin County Board of Elections had no way of checking that when they sent him a voter registration card early this year.” (”Suspected Terrorist Registered To Vote In Franklin County” WBNS-TV, http://www.10tv.com, Accessed 10/23/04)

Similar Handwriting And False Addresses Found On ACORN Cards In Hamilton County, Ohio. “Hamilton County election officials will meet this morning to discuss 19 voter registrations for people who may not exist, which would be a rare case of election fraud. … Board of Elections Director John Williams subpoenaed those named on the voter registration cards after similar handwriting and false addresses raised election workers’ suspicions. The sheriff’s department could not find them, he said. The cards were turned in, Williams said, by someone affiliated with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a group that represents low-income people.” (Cindi Andrews, “Alleged Fraudulent Voter Cards Scrutinized” Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/8/04)

ACORN Turned In Registration Cards Past Deadline In Columbus, Ohio. “Officials in Columbus are also investigating possible improprieties by an ACORN worker there. … [ACORN employee Dierdre] Murch said she took 526 new voter registrations to the board of elections late Thursday that the group found in a mismarked box and are asking the board to accept even though the deadline was Monday.” (Cindi Andrews, “Alleged Fraudulent Voter Cards Scrutinized” Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/8/04)

ACORN Was Forced To Fire Workers After Several “Blatantly False” Voter Registration Forms Were Filed With Elections Officials In Columbus, Ohio. “Two workers with a voter registration drive have been fired over several dozen forms submitted to Franklin County elections officials that were duplicates or had false information, the group’s organizer said. The Columbus branch of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, also agreed Wednesday to perform extra checks on forms turned in by its voter-registration workers before submitting them to the Franklin County Board of Elections. Group organizer Katy Gall said the problems were traced through initials on registration cards to three workers. The third worker already had quit. Gill also said the group will cooperate with prosecutors if authorities want to charge the workers. … ACORN representatives met Wednesday with Board of Elections officials and pledged to educate employees, require them to wear identification and check all new registrations before submitting them to the county, board director Matthew Damschroder said. ACORN has about 40 workers in the city. The county typically finds fewer than a dozen false registrations a year, he said. Damschroder said several ‘blatantly false’ forms were turned in by the voter registration effort, in which the nationwide Project Vote uses local ACORN offices to collect registrations. Workers paid $6.25 hourly have registered 23,000 new voters in the county since fall. Some forms have an existing voter’s name with the wrong birth date and Social Security number, and some list fake first names the same last name and address of an existing voter. The board also found forgeries when comparing forms with the images of signatures on file for more than 750,000 Franklin County voters, said Libbie Worley, manager of voter services.” (”Two Voter Registration Drive Workers Fired Over Fake Forms” The Associated Press, 6/3/04)

Warrant Issued For Ohio ACORN Employee Who Forged Signature On Voter Registration Form. “A warrant was issued for a parolee accused of forging a signature on a voter registration form, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said Tuesday. … Dooley was employed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, associated with the nonprofit Project Vote, a national group that registers low-income and minority voters, O’Brien said.” (”Warrant Issued For False Registration” The Associated Press, 9/7/04)

To read more on past voter fraud instances from liberal leaning groups, including ACORN, go here.

Prior/Related:

• More about ACORN
• Colorado voter reg. fraud uncovered