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Other Local Election Stories I Local ACORN cleans up act after '06 scandal I Seattle Time... Page 2 of 3
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"No problems have been associated with ACORN [this year], but you can bet people are watching. They're on
a short leash," said David Ammons, a spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed.
All eyes on ACORN
ACORN, which advocates for the underprivileged, was founded in 1970 and now has chapters in 110 cities
across the country. The group recently completed a massive registration drive in poor and working-class
neighborhoods which tend to vote Democratic - across 21 states.
Bogus registration cards filled out in the names of cartoon characters and the starting lineup of the Dallas
Cowboys have been targeted for investigation in about 12 states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida,
The Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, ACORN has said its own quality-control workers were the first to notice the problem
registration cards - and flagged them before submitting them to election officials in every state that is now
investigating them.
During the final presidential debate on Oct. 15, Republican candidate John McCain claimed that ACORN "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." He has demanded that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
detail his ties to the group.
Obama, an attorney who once represented ACORN in a 1995 lawsuit, has since requested that a special
prosecutor be assigned to determine whether the FBI's investigations of ACORN are politically motivated, The
New York Times reported.
McCain's attacks on ACORN have been widely covered by the national media - and mocked by comedians.
Last week, Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," called ACORN "the biggest nutbased
threat to America since Mr. Peanut tried to assassinate the GOP elephant to impress the Morton Salt
girl."
A University of Washington law professor says the GOP criticism of ACORN is a flimsy attempt to distract
voters on the eve of what many consider the most important presidential election in recent history.
Eric Schnapper, who has worked on Republican and Democratic campaigns, said bogus voter registrations
don't translate into actual votes being cast. He pointed out that third-party voter-registration groups like
ACORN are required by law to submit all filled-out forms to elections officials, even those that are suspected.
fakes.
"The casting of ballots by fictitious people is the Loch Ness Monster of election law: much discussed and never
seen," said Schnapper, a UW law professor since 1995. "The attacks on ACORN are like dumping tons of
cyanide in Loch Ness to kill the monster."
'" fabricated everything"
Clifton Mitchell Sr., a Tacoma father of two, was one of six ACORN canvassers charged in connection with the
2006 voter-registration scandal. Mitchell served more than 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of
providing false information on a voter registration.
"I fabricated everything and if ACORN knew what I was doing, they would've shut it down immediately," said
Mitchell, 46. "It was a mistake, and I regret it."
. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com!cgi-binlPrintStory.pI ?document id=2008323 762&zsecti... 10/29/2008