ACORN Prosecutions Coast to Coast
From New York to Las Vegas, authorities are cracking down on ACORN's corrupt voter registration practices. Finally.
If an organization that is funded largely by George Soros, Herb and Marion Sandler, and a variety of other foundations (often established by conservative businessmen and which now are totally controlled by left-oriented administrators like Ford and Annenberg) tells you it does serious journalistic investigation in the public interest and calls itself the Center for Public Integrity, I suggest you take their offerings with a boulder of salt.
Last year at this time, it was evident to every open-minded person that ACORN was engaged in widespread voter registration fraud under the cover of helping 1.7 million unregistered (and given the ease of registration, apparently disinterested) citizens to vote.
Pajamas Media carried a detailed piece describing what was then publicly reported about the scheme to undermine fair elections. Four days later the Center for Public Integrity (CFPI) published an apologia for ACORN.
Unfortunately for the CFPI, the report highlighted the charges against the group’s registration efforts in Nevada, suggesting that it had no choice but to turn in registrations that it suspected were in error:
In Nevada, state investigators raided ACORN’s office last week. Bob Walsh, a public information officer for the Nevada secretary of state, pointed out that the group has not been charged with anything. So far all the secretary of state’s office has done is execute a search warrant. Officials there are currently looking through ACORN’s records.
Walsh also said that ACORN should definitely have turned in the forms, even if they were false and ACORN knew they were false. In a state like Nevada, the law for third-party registration groups is particularly complicated. These groups must sign up with the secretary of state, who keeps track of the unique identifier of each registration form distributed to them. The voter registration organization is required to return every form it takes, whether completed or blank. That’s why ACORN submits registrations that anyone could tell are probably a big fat joke.
But Nevada’s law also forbids “knowingly falsifying an application to register to vote.” Ostensibly that’s why the secretary of state is looking into ACORN’s records to begin with: The group turned in obviously false registration forms. But that’s a separate part of the law and does not change ACORN’s obligation to turn in all the forms. In short, it’s not clear that in Nevada ACORN was wrong to turn in the forms; indeed, it appears the group was trying to follow the law.
This week, almost a year later, it turns out that the investigative effort of the organization overlooked what ACORN’s critics and Nevada law enforcement authorities did not: the entire ACORN voter operation in that state was designed to defraud Nevada’s voters of their right to an honest election.
The former Las Vegas director of ACORN, Charles Edwards, pleaded guilty to violations of state law in compensating ACORN workers under a quota system laughably mislabeled “performance standards.”
For ACORN, this trial may cost the group its tax exempt status in Nevada, and that can only add to the well-deserved troubles of this criminal operation.
Until now, prosecutions for voter registration fraud have focused on ACORN workers, and authorities have secured guilty pleas from several who admitted to falsifying voter registration forms.
But when investigators from Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller’s office raided the ACORN Las Vegas office, Ross says they found a paper trail that implicated the ACORN organization itself.
“We came across policy manuals that outline their policy of creating a quota system, which is against the law,” Miller told FOX News in an interview. “This, in fact, was something that was widespread and something the organization itself knew about, and it’s important to hold the organization criminally accountable as opposed to the individual field directors.” …
But prosecutors say ACORN paid a $5 bonus per day to workers who would sign up 21 or more voters per shift, hence the name “21″ or “Blackjack,” an alleged quota system that Ross says is the first step toward corrupting the democratic system.
“These charges strike at the heart of having integrity of the electoral process. That’s something that is important in Nevada and the entire country.
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Clarice Feldman is a retired litigation lawyer who lives in D.C. She's a news junkie addicted to the internet.
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33 Comments
1. Pragmatist:ACORN = OBAMA. OBAMA = ACORN nuff said.
Oct 3, 2009 - 3:02 am 2. Steve DeMarcus:I hope this is now the beginning of the end for ACORN and all its fictitious companies and that many of them end up in prison and never again are allowed to register voters, plus a hefty fine on top of all that!
Oct 3, 2009 - 3:51 am 3. AL:The real thing which will annihilate criminal organization of ACORN is probe in their tax return consulting.
Oct 3, 2009 - 3:53 am 4. David Thomson:ACORN is finished. It has been protected the last four decades by cynically employing the race card. One was accused of racism if they dared to question ACORN’s activities. This form of intimidation is effectively over. I am somewhat reminded of the proverbial snow ball rolling down the mountain that has turned into an avalanche.
Oct 3, 2009 - 6:44 am 5. gordo12:The 2008 Presidential election of Obama was 100% legiimate. ACORN will verify this.
This reminds me of the first time Chavez was elected. J Carter verified the legitimacy .
How did that turn out.
We should be prosecuting ACORN as traitors. However, with Holder in place, only the state courts have any teeth. And we know how that will turn out.
Oct 3, 2009 - 6:57 am 6. mingus:One small step for mankind. Unfortunatley, the Acorn cadre currently infests the White House, making a real housecleaning unlikely. Once upon a time we could count on the mainstream media to keep a eye on evolving government swindles, corruption, and despoilation of the body politic. Alas, no more. Ethics and journalistic responsibiity were dropped from the curriculum, and replaced by smugness, a sense of superiority, moral relativism, and self-promotion. The erstwhile guardians of truth have morphed into a pack of hucksters pushing their own agenda. Whatever the shortcomings of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh et al, they and others have played an essential role in exposing the degradation of traditional sources of news. Sans them, no notice at all would have been paid to the festering pustule of Acorn, etc. And surely, there are other ‘Acorns’ in the wings. Eternal vigilance.
Oct 3, 2009 - 7:18 am 7. tommyd:There is a very true old saying,
You hang around with sh*t and you will get some on you.
Obama has his whole life hung around with sh*t.
So whats there to be surprised with.
I had to laugh my a** off when he made the statement on video that he was unaware that Acorn had received so much taxpayer money…
just what planet does this guy think we are all from?….
They and he are a criminal enterprise.
Liars , Wilson was 100% correct in his assessment.
Oct 3, 2009 - 7:20 am 8. Saltherring:There are hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of corrupt, ACORN-style, “community organizing” groups waiting to take ACORN’s place as repository for government billions offered as bribes in exchange for votes and continued victimhood/obedience. The real story is the putrilage at the top who promote and fund these rackets, beginning with the White House and congressional Democrats. Their objectives are clear:
To steal from productive citizens and distribute the proceeds to the inner-city indolent.
Further the effort to create a permanent, totally dependent underclass.
Create racial tension between blacks and whites.
Consolidate their power base in an effort to build and maintain a socialist empire where once stood a Constitutional Republic.
Oct 3, 2009 - 7:50 am 9. glenn:That’s OK folks, have no fear. By the time 2012 rolls around the Democrats will have a whole “new” vote generating system in place. And the lapdog media will be cheering them on just the way they did ACORN.
Oct 3, 2009 - 8:24 am 10. goy:Good.
Keep the pressure on. Without the river of money they depend on from corrupt politicians and organizations who don’t want a light shining on any of their other corrupt activities, soon they’ll be forced into layoffs just like every other business.
Next up: The Left Wing Media. A tougher nut to crack, but then everyone thought ACORN was invincible too. It certainly didn’t take much to get the ball rolling there. Every house of cards is similarly vulnerable.
If the Great Depression is any guide, the economy is set to take its second, deeper dip into the current recession, since BHO and his anti-American minions are ignoring the course of action that made the 1920-21 Recession so short, and instead making all the same mistakes FDR did. That will be the signal to go after The Left Wing Media directly: boycott every one of their major advertisers. Make it clear that agenda-driven, editorialized ‘news’ is no longer acceptable. Wake people up.
Ultimately, we need to do the same with academia and, of course, Congress. Reversing socialism’s long march through the institutions is the only way to get back to a sustainable Republic.
Oct 3, 2009 - 8:57 am 11. Carlos Caliente:I just came from a lefty site called Media Matters. People there actually defend ACORN and vilify Fox News for it’s coverage of the ACORN scandal. How does someone become so narrow in their thinking that they can of their own free will actually publicly deny the undeniable truth?
Oct 3, 2009 - 9:07 am 12. ricotonde:When is Presidente for Life “Zero” going to tell us that the authorities “acted Stupidly”? Will he invite Roman Polanski and the Swiss ambassador for a beer? Has the law been suspended for Acorn in Nevada?
Oct 3, 2009 - 9:08 am 13. Cindy Sue Causey:Two words :: Jack Justice..
* [Man with Developmental Disability] says his vote wasn’t right; Jennifer Emert; WALB.com; 2008.10.14..
* Investigation launched into questionable voting assistance; Jennifer Emert; WALB.com; 2008.10.15..
That’s a whole ‘nother can of nasty, nasty worms wholly different from the registration fraud..
Every time I think of Jack (and I do often), I wonder just how many “Jack Justices” were thusly abused in precisely this fashion last November……
Warmest from Talking Rock.
Oct 3, 2009 - 9:21 am 14. Delia:Which ’splains ‘Stuart Smalley’.
Oct 3, 2009 - 9:33 am 15. ehunter:So…the 60s radicals finally get their wish to destroy America. Wade Rathke of the SDS fame
Oct 3, 2009 - 10:40 am 16. howiem:founds ACORN..ACORN elects Obama..with the help of the former student radicals in the media..Obama
proceeds to dismantle the country both domestically and abroad. Its been a Long March boys.
Coast to coast? The article only mentions New York and nevada, and Nevada is only on the coast of that beachfront property that Obama sold the American people. It only takes a search for acorn being investigated in to turn up other states, which would have enhanced the credibility of the article.
Oct 3, 2009 - 11:15 am 17. ked5:Washington still hasn’t. though they did prosecute several workers for voter fraud in the 2004 election, it didn’t go far enough. ACORN was able to foist it off on “just workers” instead of the reality of “pattern of voter fraud” among the entire organization. We had more voter fraud in 2008.
Oct 3, 2009 - 12:08 pm 18. Poor Citizen:I agree that ACORN is now being scrapped and it should be. I would like to see it re-invented in local communities with its leadership decentralized. Cities/Counties leaders could then appoint a local “housing czar” thats appointed by the mayor and/or county commissioner. The organization would then be run from the ground up, thus ensuring local accountability. Local people running their own affairs.
Oct 3, 2009 - 12:44 pm 19. stuart williamson:ACORN is going to he hard hit, but are you are seriously delusional if you think it will disappear. Those who have put years into the organization, those who depend on its services, those politicians who perceive it as a strong force for them, will guarantee its continuance. It is, in essence, a hangover from the Communist Party of the U.,S.A. and continues to have advocates in high positions within our Congress, Administration and the bureaucracy.
The likelihood is that it will become more overtly doctrinaire and aggressively political, possibly the core organization of the back radical socialists. Strong grassroots institutions, with powerful connections, have a good chance of holding together in a crisis and reorganizing to fight again another day, having rid them selves of the weaklings and criminal elements.
Who knows. When Obama leaves office, whatever the crcircumstances, ACORN could be there, waiting for a new CEO.
Oct 3, 2009 - 1:48 pm 20. Fantom:You cannot spell OBAMA without ACORN.
ACORN OBAMA SEIU
Oct 3, 2009 - 2:17 pm 21. tommyd:Axis of Corruption.
PC sez:
I agree that ACORN is now being scrapped and it should be. I would like to see it re-invented in local communities with its leadership decentralized. Cities/Counties leaders could then appoint a local “housing czar” thats appointed by the mayor and/or county commissioner. The organization would then be run from the ground up, thus ensuring local accountability. Local people running their own affairs.
Yeah, they could hand out housing assignments based on how good a “party” man you are.
can’t wait….
Oct 3, 2009 - 3:00 pm 22. turfmonster:What goy just said in #10.
We need to clean house and to do it thoroughly. And the sooner we begin, the better.
Oct 3, 2009 - 3:30 pm 23. Sallie:The ACORN doesn’t fall from the Obama. The most distressing thing was the BLATANT lie from Obama regarding the ACORN funding.
2010 is comin’ up fast. Remember the lies and the liars.
Oct 3, 2009 - 5:08 pm 24. kimm:So I’m assuming that we will have a “recount” on the election to see how many votes both candidates ACTUALLY received, since ACORN has been caught in voter fraud. Or maybe a totally new vote?
If ACORN has been caught in major voter fraud, how can this election legally stand without a through going over?
Oh, I forgot who we’re dealing with. Legal isn’t in their vocabulary!
Oct 3, 2009 - 5:14 pm 25. steveB/Colorado:#23 Sallie “2010 is comin’ up fast. Remember the lies and liars” What! Tom DeLay is making a comeback?
Oct 3, 2009 - 5:40 pm 26. Sebastian Shaw:These ACORNS are poison; destroy them all with the sunlight. Obama is also fundamentally linked to the corrupt ACORN thug group. He should go down with them. Keep digging up the dirt since the MSM will not.
Oct 3, 2009 - 5:51 pm 27. Linda Mae:Isn’t Working Families Party the upgraded New Party – of which Obama was a member in 1995 when he ran for office in Chicago? It is the continuation of the socialist party in america. Their web site (I haven’t visited it in months) had an agenda which was the same as the American Socialist Party or the Progressive Democratic Caucus – all are anti US Constitution.
Oct 4, 2009 - 12:03 am 28. Elaine:I would argue it would take decades for a complete investigation into the tenacles of ACORN’s reach. This organization is comparable to the Mafia, using the same tactics with the Alinksy Rules for Radicals playbook added and is really a subversive group of haters of America, the rule of law, and the U.S. Constitution. Obama has blood on his hands for his involvement with them. Those who voted for Obama are indirectly responsible for the criminal activities of this organization as well.
Oct 4, 2009 - 8:50 am 29. rachel peepers:Since he took office, Obama has figuratively
been using our country as a bathroom.
Besides number one and two,
he’s vomited all over the constitutional bedrock of our country while trying to jam everything from unread stimu-jackin the box acts to ethnocentric, mentally unbalanced Sotomayor brain froths to socialized medical mistakes down our throats.
Electing Obama was like unleashing a horde of suicide bombers on every facet of this nation, from its ideals of self reliance, private ownership of land and capital to the need to preserve, protect and defend every aspect of this constitution that’s made us strong and free for 233 years and counting. We’re counting on each. We can’t let one another down in this hour of need. Of, course, years before Obama, there was acorn.
Actually Obama was Acorn’s seedling.
Acorn represents corruption at its source, stealing votes, defiling election after election, stoking the hell fires of communism.
Acorn’s offspring, President Obama, appears to be a brown eyed handsome man, but if we had the vision of the deity, he would undoubtedly resemble a fecal drenched, pus laden, Acorn tentacle, covered entity of afterbirth goo.
Acorn elected Obama in the stealth of voter fraud and corruption and now, finally, we’re shining the disinfectant of light on this evil body. We’re trying to unravel every corrosive part of this corruption laden corporation that operates in the depths of lying non-profit depravity of words and action; from poisoning school children’s minds, to leaping at the perverted chance to uses 13 year old bodies as sex slaves. Its work is dirty, nasty and perverted.
It saddens my soul that our first black President, who should have been a rallying cry for pride, hope and change, has turned into a mean, self centered, narcissistic, socialist train wreck who’s not just put us on the wrong track, but has intentionally put us on the path to destruction.
It’s like Barack has infected the greatest country on earth with the worst viruses in the world.
He laughs, dances, drinks his $600 bottles of wine on Wednesday party night at the White House while sweaty patriotic Americans try to fashion a plan to save the land of the free and the home of the brave. So far the antidote is untried. The cure is not as yet within reach.
Our economy is sick, sickened by Stimulus One, cheapened by devaluing currency, weakened by voter fraud and intimidation that’s gone unpunished. And while our NeroBama fiddles with military strategy even though he’s always run from and despised the military, our Afghan troops die every day because Ocrumbball won’t send his own General the troop strength he’s been requesting since August.
Figuring out military strategy to Obama is like asking a blind man to solve a Rubic Cube. And I’m assuming Obama is not out to sabotage the fighting men in the field. Which is a benefit of the doubt I now seriously question.
This country can be saved, our brave soldiers can be saved, a war can be won, but two million Americans must be willing to answer the call. Protest en mass. Raise your signs and make your voices be heard.
Obama’s self avowed communists and socialist czars must go. We must save our most precious national resource, our children, from perverted, pervasive, professional indoctranation of creepy socialist belief whether in mantra, song or word;
A sordid concoction of arguments conceived in hell and notarized by haters of liberty the world over to imbue our children with a love for Obama and a distrust of private enterprise and liberty must be cut off at the knees.
I know I don’t paint a pretty picture. But I know better than hoping the socialized infestation can cure itself.
Whatever it takes, we must be willing to bear any burden, meet any hardship, fight any foe.
Failure is not an option.
Oct 5, 2009 - 1:00 pm 30. Paul -Indiana:#29. “It saddens my soul that our first black President, who should have been a rallying cry for pride, hope and change, has turned into a mean, self centered, narcissistic, socialist train wreck who’s not just put us on the wrong track, but has intentionally put us on the path to destruction. ”
Oct 6, 2009 - 5:34 am 31. Clark:=============================================
Just one slight correction, please. “has turned into ” should read “continues to be”.
if Bertha Lewis was truly appalled and sickened by the “deplorable actions” of her employees … she would be glad that someone helped to expose those deplorable actions …. but instead she would like to see them “held accountable” for their crime of taping her employees without first asking permission.
apparently she wants to create enough “smoke” to prevent the focus from her as well.
Oct 6, 2009 - 4:00 pm 32. Skeetz:Face it, Republicans, you lost! . ACORN mess could have been cleaned up under your idiot boy George Bush, add 1 additional failure onto the 147 documented failures of the Bush administration, that brings the total up to 148 documented failures. Republicans, go choke on your ACORN, and while you are at it, if you breathed the same air on planet earth then you are indirectly responsible for what ACORN has done.
Oct 6, 2009 - 8:51 pm 33. Go London:Speaking of corrupt,the Nevada Secretary of State employs a corrupt investigator that was at the helm of this investigation, his name is colin haynes and he is currently under a private investigation himself.
Nov 5, 2009 - 7:55 pmThe private investigation was launched once it was realized that he fixes investigations in such a way that they go in his favor.
Subpoenas have not been served as of yet as this is heading in that direction shortly.
He has only been with the Secretary of State for under 2 years and is pulling out all the stops in order to impress his superiors.
He is guilty of violating regulatory investigative procedures.
Our goal is to get colin haynes in front of a Federal Grand Jury.