Pa. Congressional Republicans Get Nutty over ACORN

ACORN, as most of you probably know, is "the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people with over 400,000 member families organized into more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 110 cities across the country." It's Project Vote has added 1.3 million voters to the rolls, including 153,000 here in Pennsylvania.

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent, however, is concerned that ACORN is engaging in "illegal political activity, including voter fraud." So he wants the state Attorney General to go after the ACORNs with his nutcracker. He's joined by Jim Gerlach, Phil English, Tim Murphy, John Peterson, Joe Pitts, Todd Platts, and Bill Shuster, all of whom just happen to be Republicans. Not a single Democratic House member has joined this request.

Hmmm.

Are these Republican Congressman really worried about voter fraud or are they instead concerned that the 153,000 new voters in Pennsylvania, mostly low-income and minority, are registered as Democrats? One thing is clear. Pennsylvania's Republican Congressman are just part of a larger GOP choir, which includes a “fact sheet” from the Republican National Committee and a McCain web ad.

Pennsylvania's Congressional Republicans claim there are three reasons why Corbett needs to become a nutcracker with ACORN.

Reason 1: In July 2008, Dauphin County election officials investigated over 100 suspicious applications submitted by ACORN. In July, a former ACORN worker was questioned by a Dauphin County detective after turning in between 100 and 150 questionable registration forms. He was finally arrested on Saturday, and is accused of submitting phonies to justify his paycheck. This is one person, not some deep conspiracy.

Reason 2: In June 2007, a Berks County woman employed by ACORN was arrested for alleged voter fraud, including falsifying registrations and registering dead people. Wendy Godfrey was charged with dozens of counts of repeat registrations, false registrations and deceased registrants. But here's the kicker. She never actually worked for ACORN. According to a Berks County official who asked to remain anonymous, she and a boyfriend pleaded guilty to some form of voter registration fraud, and the case is closed. That's two people, not a deep conspiracy.

Reason 3: In September 2006, nearly 100 fraudulent voter registration applications were filed in Delaware County, prompting the District Attorney’s Office to issue an identity theft alert. All 100 applications were filled out by four individuals working for ACORN. I don't know about two years ago, but have no reason to doubt the claim. I do know the Delaware County DA is currently investigating 290 questionable registrations.

Under Pennsylvania law, it is illegal to pay canvassers by the card. But it's apparent some poorly trained canvassers are just filling in some blank cards to get a quick buck. It scares the hell out of Republicans, but it's not really voter fraud. It's voter registration fraud, and ACORN is technically one of the victims. Canvassers are paid . . . well, acorns, and they tend to do sloppy work. As blogger Rick Hasen notes at Huffington Post, "ACORN needs to find a different business model for registering voters, even if it means that fewer voters will be registered and fewer low income people employed in the voter registration business."

But don't kid yourself. The entire Dallas Cowboys may be registered in thirteen different states, but they won't be voting.

No statewide investigation is necessary.

Update: Tne Morning Call reports today that ACORN ended its voter registration efforts in the Lehigh Valley at the end of May, and that as many as 20 out of 100 registrations were invalid in Lehigh County. The American Spectator reports that retired Justice Sandra Newman is concerned November's election will be fair. I don't think this concern is justified. It is one thing to submit a bogus form. It is quite another to engage in actual voter fraud. No one has made that connection.