Obama Manager: ACORN Criticism A "Cynical Ploy" To Suppress Turnout
(CBS)
(TOLEDO, OHIO) - The Obama campaign was forced to defend their voter registration efforts today, after the McCain campaign continued to the link them to ACORN. Earlier today, the group acknowledged that there has been some voter registration fraud, but that state election officials are required to “weed out” bad applications.
Both campaign manager David Plouffe and general counsel Bob Bauer vehemently denied any connection between ACORN and their voter registration effort. “The case is ludicrous,” Bauer said about the Republican accusations, adding, “this campaign has never paid ACORN to register voters.”
Plouffe acknowledged that ACORN was hired last spring to canvas in states like Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania. “It was to augment our grassroots organization so that we could try and generate as much turn out as we could,” Plouffe explained, but said that only volunteers and campaign staff are involved with registration.
He charged that the Republicans are “suppressing” and “intimidating” voters in various states, making it harder for people to vote.
“What this is, is a strategic and cynical ploy to in some ways to denigrate all these people who decided to participate in their democracy, to sow confusion out there in a deliberate attempt to try to decrease turnout,” Plouffe argued.
“This is just the start of what is going to be a deliberate and cynical attempt to try and create confusion, to challenge people inappropriately.”
Plouffe cited several examples in which Republicans may be intimidating voters, including an example in Wisconsin where individuals with law enforcement background were being recruited as election workers. He also said that by raising questions about the registration process, voters are becoming confused about the process.
The McCain campaign has invited the Obama campaign to join a committee created to stop voter fraud and deal with any Election Day problems, but they said they have not received a reply to their request. Although Bauer said they did respond several weeks ago, he argued that it is hard to take up the offer in good faith.
“They’re really not concerned at the moment that we need their help with anything. We need them to stop the suppressive activity,” Bauer said, “And then voters can vote and I’m sure everything will proceed smoothly.”
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 52 CommentsIn addition to Tom Davis, who has a history of openly discussing subtle voter suppression techniques, the committee includes:
* Cameron Quinn, who was a director of the Republican voter suppression front group, the American Center for Voting Rights.
* California Secretary of State Bill Jones, who has long fought for ways to make it more difficult for people to vote.
* Susan Molinari who cried wolf about voter fraud in 2004 and 2006, only to find her allegations proven false.
* Larry D. Thompson, who hired Bradley Schlozman to work in the Justice Department where he approved Tom Delay''s redistricting plan, GA''s modern "Jim Crow Law" and pursued politicized indictments against ACORN in MO.
BOTH PARTIES have had issues with ACORN over the years, both parties have accused each other of "being in bed" with ACORN for years as well. I suppose no one remembers how time and time again an "ACORN SCANDAL" comes up when there''s an election.
Most state laws require that all filled out voter registrations, regardless of any suspicions the organization collecting them may have, must be turned in to the state. These laws are necessary in order to prevent partisan groups from registering people, then tossing out their registrations in order to disenfranchize them.
In Nevada, which happens to have such laws, ACORN would voluntarily separate out and flag suspicious registrations when they were turned into the secratary of state.
That same official decided to use those suspicious registrations, that ACORN itself had flagged as required by state law, as grounds for raiding their headquarters. Keep in mind, all those examples of fake names were first found by ACORN and were turned in separately as suspicious forms that needed follow-up action.
Under the criteria which is being used to demonize ACORN, every single signature-collecting agency would also be considered fraudulant.
It said she abused her power and violated an ethics law.
She said that the report said she had done nothing ethically wrong.
Why did she lie?
"REGISTRATION FRAUD" is not "VOTER FRAUD"
The biggest problem is the approximately 1.2 million American voters that the Republican VOTER SUPPRESSION EFFORTS will DISENFRANCHISE.
ACORN is simply another "Fox Fantasy"
The TINY NUMBER of "questioned" ACORN registrations will have NO EFFECT ON THE ELECTION
10,000 QUESTIONED registrations out of 1,300,000 ACORN Registrations are "suspect"
That is only 0.7% of all the registrations filed by Acorn
10,000 QUESTIONED registrations out of 212,000,000 registered voters in the USA
So the QUESTIONED registrations are only 0.004% of ALL VOTERS in the USA.
ALL OF THESE QUESTIONED REGISTRATIONS will be REJECTED by the county registrars. So NO VOTER FRAID will occur.
This was NOT an effort to CREATE VOTES IN THE ELECTION. NONE of these false REGISTRATIONS were going to result in actual VOTES.
These false registrations were done by PAID EMPLOYEES TRYING TO UP THEIR REGISTRATION NUMBERS. These "phantoms" were NEVER going to SHOW UP at the polls! So NO VOTER FRAUD would have occurred.
So this "Voter Fraud" is really just another FRAUD by McCain, and the GOP in an attempt to throw doubt into the campaign by a candidate who is losing badly.
Not a ploy by anyone.
ACORN Has had a long and vast history of voter and registration Fraud.
Fake registrations can lead to voter fraud. That is why many are Concerned about ACORN attempts to steal the election.
During election day these fake registration can easily translated in to votes by someone stuffing the ballot paper.
Remember Mickey mouse does not have to vote for Obama,there will be someone else who can vote using that registration.
The integrity of America''s voting system is at stake.
Remember Zimbabwe, no matter how many votes the opposition got Mugabe always got more when the election returns come in.
Remember the fired US Attorneys. That''s the real truth, and the real "scandal" of the ACORN story. It''s not about OBAMA - it''s about the dirty tactics of the GOP, who are trying to strip Americans of yet one more of our fundamental Constitutional rights.
There is a huge difference between "registration fraud" (i.e., someone registers as, say, "Santa Claus") and "vote fraud" (someone shows up to vote as "Santa Claus"). Registration fraud does, unfortunately, happen. But there is NO EVIDENCE that it leads to actual vote fraud - the penalties are too high and the rewards are too low. There''s no way that "Santa Claus" is ever going to make it on to the voter rolls in the first place, and even on the off chance that happened, no poll worker is going to let "Santa Claus" vote.
I think a LOT of independent voters will be concerned about OBAMA''s crooks trying to steal this election. ACORN is trying to convert USA in to Zimbabwe a corrupt third world nation.
REPUBLICAN STRATEGY:
If you can''t WIN their votes, then KEEP THEM FROM VOTING any way you can.
Republicans HATE democracy.
He represented ACORN for free.
He got ACORN''s help during the Democrat primaries.
Now Obama says he is not involved with ACORN, give us a break!
He gave ACORN 800,000.
Obama worked for ACORN in the 90''s.
Now OBAMA claims that ACORN and him are not connected?? Give us a break.
He is suppressing the right of the dead to vote. He must hate the afterlife.
He is suppressing the right of Mickey Mouse to vote. He must hate the Magic Kingdom.
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