Seattle, Washington FBI Bureau File - Paperless Archives

Dan.8atterberg, Interim King couinprosecuting Attorney, News & Information . Page 2 of 5
~ I. tt
~. In October of 2 06, 30 days before the November election, a woman employed by
ACORN delivered approximately 1,800 allegedly new voter registrations forms to
King County.
King County Elections' staff had immediate concerns that some of these
registrations looked "fake due to the similarity of the handwriting.
However, because it was impossible to determine on short notice which of the 1,800
registrations were valid and which were not, and because of limitations imposed by
federal statutes and case law, King County Elections determined that it could not
unilaterally remove these registrations from the voter registration list.
The risk was too great that a validly registered voter would be prevented from
voting.
Instead, Elections accepted the registrations, and chose to m.onitor the registrations
submitted by ACORN for two complete election cycles. (Feb. school elections and
March Viaduct advisory ballot). After those election cycles, Elections determined
that only 6 {2eop-.Ie associated with the 1,800 registrations submitted by ACORN had
actually voted.
It was at this point, in March of 2007, that King County Elections referred the matter
to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for further investigation.
The investigation determined that in the summer and early fall of 2006, ACORN set
up a voter registration operation in Pierce County. ACORN hired individuals -
"canvassers" to gather voter registrations, first in Pierce County and then in King
County. Canvassers were paid $8 per hour ..
ACORN canvassers were required to place their initials at the top of the voter
registration forms they gathered. Based on these initials and ACORN personnel
records, the investigation quickly focused on six individuals who had submitted the
vast bulk of the fraudulent registration forms in King County.
After some excellent investigative legwork by King County Detective Chris Johnson,
assisted by King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Hobbs, and an
Assistant U.S. Attorney and FBI agent, the full extent of the scheme was revealed.
It was hardly a sophisticated plan: The defendants simply realized that making up
names was easier than actually canvassing the streets looking for unregistered
voters. .
The group would travel to the public library with a stack of voter registration forms,
grab a couple of phone books, take a name from one page, an address from
another, and falsely sign the affidavit declaring their eligibility to vote.
In over 1,000 cases, the defendants used the address of local homeless shelters,
assuming that these registrations would be more difficu.lt to investigate.
That decision put a significant burden on the operators of these shelters, who have
·spent dozens of hours trying to determine whether any of the names used on the
registrations were ever shelter residents.
http://www.metrokc.gov/proatty/news/2007Noter%20Registration%20Statement.htm 9/23/2008