Media and Election Experts Assess the Allegations of Voter Registration Fraud

By Michael Slater, Executive Director, Project Vote

Everything has its season, and the month before a national election is the season for partisan allegations of "voter fraud." This year has been different mostly in degrees. The issue of a small number of bogus voter registration applications in ACORN's historic 1.31 million voter registration drive (conducted in partnership with Project Vote) has taken a prominent place in the dramaturgy of the Republican presidential campaign strategy.

On October 2 the RNC launched its opening salvo against ACORN with a teleconference call with media in which RNC counsel Sean Cairncross claimed ACORN was "engaged in a systematic effort to undermine the integrity of the election process nationwide." The McCain-Palin campaign has attempted to turn fears of "voter fraud"-and Senator Barack Obama's transparently tenuous ties to ACORN-into an attack on Obama's candidacy, a justification for voter challenges, and a fundraising opportunity . Republican presidential candidate Senator McCain recklessly escalated the rhetoric in the last presidential debate on October 15, in which he said "We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama's relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."

Journalists have taken up the challenge to assess the truth of these claims and have found them wanting.

Reporters and Voting Rights Experts agree that the allegations are unwarranted and that the threat of "voter fraud" is grossly exaggerated for partisan purposes.

• Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers says: "Republicans have leveled similar allegations against the coalition known as ACORN in every election since at least 2000, but they have yet to produce proof that the group poses a threat to election integrity." ("Will McCain get any traction from latest Acorn allegations? ", October 10)

• Senator Barack Obama understands that: "ACORN is a community organization…they were paying people to go out and register folks, and apparently some of the people who were out there didn't really register people, they just filled out a bunch of names." (Presidential Debate , October 15)

• Michael Winship of Bill Moyers Journal says: "the ACORN 'election fraud' story is one of those urban legends, like fake moon landings and alligators in the sewers, and it appears three or four weeks before every recent national election with the regularity of the swallows returning to Capistrano." ("A Mighty Hoax from ACORN Grows ," October 17)

• Cynthia Tucker editorializes in the Atlanta Journal Constitution: " The Republican nominee is once again using fear as a tactic to try to win votes...Fake voters are a myth, a convenient cover for those who really don't believe in the universal franchise. (ACORN has been accused of fraudulent registrations; for actual voter fraud to occur, persons with those fake names would have to show up to cast ballots.) There is no evidence of people coming to the polls using false names and fraudulent IDs. (" Don't buy frenzy over voter fraud ," October 17)

• The New York Times editorializes: "Based on the information that has come to light so far, the charges appear to be wildly overblown - and intended to hobble ACORN's efforts… For all of the McCain campaign's manufactured fury about vote theft (and similar claims from the Republican Party over the years) there is virtually no evidence - anywhere in the country, going back many elections - of people showing up at the polls and voting when they are not entitled to... The real threats to the fabric of democracy are the unreasonable barriers that stand in the way of eligible voters casting ballots" ("The ACORN Story ," October 17)

Even election officials in key states have said that they detected no problems with ACORN's voter registration drives.

• Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Ohio ACORN's head organizer: "is very experienced and conscientious, and we've had nothing but good experiences working with her." (Interview on "Democracy Now ," October 9)

• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: "The group has caused no such problems, according to Republican city elections director Scott Leiendecker. ACORN finished its efforts in St. Louis about three months ago, he said. So far, he said, "Everything's been on the up and up." ("GOP Attacking ACORN's voter registration efforts," October 11 )

• The Orlando Sentinel reports: "The heat coming from national Republicans isn't shared by Florida's GOP leadership. Both Gov. Charlie Crist and Secretary of State Kurt Browning have said they don't mind ACORN being active in Florida's election process. When reporters asked Crist if there was a problem with ACORN here, he said, "No." ("ACORN's voter sign-ups bother McCain, but not Crist," October 12 )

• The Miami Herald finds that: "Breaking with the talking points of his fellow Republicans in Washington, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said he does not think voter fraud and the vote-registration group ACORN are a major problem in the Sunshine State. ''I think that there's probably less [fraud] than is being discussed. As we're coming into the closing days of any campaign, there are some who enjoy chaos,' Crist told reporters…Crist's Republican Secretary of State, Kurt Browning, said he doesn't think ACORN is committing systematic voter fraud." (" Crist breaks with Republicans over ACORN voter fraud charges ," October 15, 2008)

• The Houston Chronicle reports: "There is no evidence of intentional manipulation of the voter rolls here, according to the county's voter registrar." ("ACORN sign-ups in Harris seem legitimate," October 16)

In reality the attacks against ACORN have nothing to do with fear of "voter fraud," and everything to do with fear of low-income and minority voters.

• Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) writing at The Huffington Post said: "The real reason [for the Republican attacks] is obvious: Because ACORN, along with Project Vote, just announced that they had successfully registered 1.3 million poor people this year." (Attacks on ACORN Based Not on Facts, But on Fear of 1.3 Million Poor People Registering , October 10)

• In the Capital Times (Madison, WI) Joel McNally editorializes: "Republicans have another underlying motive for attacking ACORN. It is an organization that engages in that dreaded community organizing. It actually tries to give a voice to the poor and most vulnerable among us...Clearly, organizations like ACORN are on the front lines of promoting democracy in this country while Republicans are trying to stop its spread." (entitled "GOP Battles the Spread of Democracy ," October 10)

• Miles Rapoport, former Connecticut Secretary of State and President of Demos spoke out: "I think the criticism of ACORN is a diversionary issue that should not be allowed to cloud what is happening this year, which is an extraordinary flowering of democracy. ACORN is to be applauded for encouraging that, not criticized, and I am proud to stand with them." (ACORN Press Conference , October 14)

• Election law attorney Rick Hasen at the Huffington Post says: "For the last three elections, Republicans have been ramping up cries of voter fraud as a way of undermining the legitimacy of the election results should they not turn out in their favor and providing a reason for strict voting purges that are likely to remove many Democratic voters from the rolls." ("The Purge Surge: Why the GOP Is Nuts About ACORN ," (October 10)

• Former U.S. attorney David Iglesias recently told Talking Points Memo: "I'm astounded that this issue is being trotted out again. Based on what I saw in 2004 and 2006, it's a scare tactic." ("Iglesias: 'I'm Astounded' By DOJ's ACORN Probe ," October 16)

• As Reported in The Hill, Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP says: "This latest attack on ACORN follows a sorry pattern, played out in election after election. Republicans have practiced an assortment of subtle and overt methods to suppress and smother voter registration and turnout…Ever since they first practiced voter suppression, they've yelled, 'Voter fraud!' " ("Groups: ACORN attacks meant to suppress vote," October 15)

• People for the American Way (PFAW) President Kathryn Kolbert says: "Those who are stirring the 'voter fraud' pot don't want to talk about voter suppression and intimidation. They want to use the code word of 'voter fraud' as cover for their real objective of voter suppression…It's a sad day when a campaign's success strategy is dependent upon keeping voters away from the polls." (ACORN Press Conference, October 14.

• The Kansas City Star asks: "So why all the caterwauling from Republicans? The most salient point is that ACORN has registered more than 1.3 million voters this election cycle. Of course many of these people are in demographic groups - minorities, and lower- and middle-income Americans - who tend to vote for Democrats. And many of these people are ready to vote for change…" ("Friday Editorial: McCain's spurious attacks on ACORN," October 16)