If a radical group closely associated with the president of the United States and known for its efforts to undermine American democracy were convicted in a massive voter fraud conspiracy you’d expect to hear something about it from the mainstream media, wouldn’t you? Wrong. Except for the odd FoxNews.com report and a few local reports there has been a media blackout.
On April 6 the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), that is, the organization itself as opposed to its employees, was convicted in Las Vegas of felony “compensation” for registration of voters. Sentencing is scheduled for August 10. Nevada forbids compensating voter registration canvassers because it creates a financial incentive for fraudulent or sloppy registrations.
Significantly, this is the first time ACORN itself has been convicted of a crime. The fact that the nonprofit entity was found guilty strongly suggests that ACORN’s ambitious voter-fraud schemes were sanctioned at the highest levels.
The conviction came after the 2008 election cycle during which Las Vegas ACORN officials emptied the local jails to fill voter registration canvasser slots and even put individuals convicted of identity theft in charge of the registration drive. At least they hired experts, some locals quipped, according to John Fund of the Wall Street Journal.
Mickey Mouse, Mary Poppins and celebrities living and dead have been registered to vote over and over again precisely because ACORN has been allowed to get away with polluting the nation’s voter rolls for so long.
But this is not the first time that ACORN has found itself in legal hot water. In 2010 ACORN settled a racketeering lawsuit in Ohio out of court and agreed to withdraw from the state. In the settlement with the Buckeye Institute’s 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, ACORN agreed to “cease all Ohio activity” and surrender all its state business licenses.
As Judicial Watch reports, “The group has been busted for forging voter registration applications in key battleground states and submitting falsified forms in more than half a dozen others. In 2007, ACORN settled the largest case of voter fraud in the history of Washington State after seven workers were caught submitting about 2,000 fake registration forms.” Moreover, there are scores of ACORN employees who have been convicted of election fraud.
ACORN’s conduct is habitual and has taken place in dozen of states. It’s time for these gangsters to face the full weight of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
On a personal note, my op-ed in the Friday Washington Times is the #1 most-read opinion article on the newspaper’s website (as of Sunday morning). It’s gratifying to know that people still care about the threat that ACORN and similar groups still pose to the American republic.
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