Ed Brayton is a freelance writer and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Updated: Turns out this story was from 2004 and the state's investigation found not enough evidence to convict. I should have done more research before putting up this post. I screwed up. My apologies.
The familiar pattern in American politics is well known: Democrats accuse Republicans of voter suppression, Republicans accuse Democrats of voter fraud (though as Gerry Hebert of the Campaign Legal Center told me in an interview last week, almost all the evidence is in favor of the Democrats on this; voter fraud is quite rare). Here's a case where it appears the Republicans may be engaging in voter fraud:
Federal, state, and local officials are gathering information about allegations of voter registration fraud that were first raised Channel 8 Eyewitness News.An employee of a private voter registration firm alleges that his bosses trashed registration forms filled out by Democratic voters because they only wanted to sign up Republican voters.
The only question that matters, of course, is whether those accusations can be backed up with evidence. The article says that the employee retrieved some of those voter registration cards from the trash and turned them over to authorities and at least one person whose card was trashed has been publicly identified:
On Tuesday afternoon, Las Vegan Eric Russell and his girlfriend took a packet of documents to the Las Vegas FBI office but left before filing a formal complaint about what Russell says was a deliberate effort to disenfranchise local voters.Russell worked for a company called Voters Outreach of America, along with 300 other people. He says he got into a beef with the company over a pay dispute, and witnessed his bosses ripping up registration forms that had been filed by democrats.
"They were thrown away in the trash. I grabbed them out," said Eric Russell. One of those forms belonged to Daren Gray, who was shocked to learn that the re-registration form he filled out was never turned in.
"I'm pretty mad, upset. I'm still gonna vote," said Daren Gray. Russell doesn't know how many democratic registrations were tossed in the trash but guesses the number could be very high since Voters Outreach of America operated in Las Vegas for more than two months.
If they have voter registration cards that were never turned in, that's clear evidence of wrongdoing. By law, all registration cards must be turned in to election officials within ten days. The question then becomes who is responsible for it and were they specifically targeting voters from one party.
To be fair, ACORN employees have also failed to turn in registration cards in isolated cases. At least one canvasser was found with registration cards in their trunk that were never turned in. But there is no evidence, as far as I know, that this went on with the knowledge of anyone else, like his supervisors, or that anyone in particular was targeted. The guy just didn't turn in the cards.
If this group, particularly leaders rather than canvassers, were specifically disposing of registration cards by Democrats, this could be a major scandal. This company was hired directly by the Republican National Committee. Identical allegations were made against this company in Pennsylvania in 2004. In that case, one of the employees handed over a copy of a script they said was given to them by supervisors instructing them to not register Democrats:
"If they were a Kerry voter, we were just supposed to walk away," said Michael Twilla, of Meadville, who said he has been paid for only eight of 72 hours he worked.Twilla provided the Post-Gazette with a copy of the script he said he had been given.
It instructs the canvassers to hand unregistered Bush supporters a clipboard with a registration form, and to advise them the canvassers will personally deliver the forms to the local courthouse.
A lower portion of the form also advises the canvassers to ask undecided voters two questions: "Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro life?" and "Are you worried about the Democrats raising taxes?" If voters say they are pro-life, the form says, "Ask if they are registered to vote. If they are pro-choice, say thank you and walk away."
The form also tells canvassers, "If anyone asks who you are working for, it's 'Project America Vote.' "
America Votes, whose name is similar, is a self-described nonpartisan voter registration organization sponsored by generally liberal-leaning groups.
Several canvassers said they had been instructed to skip the lower portion of the form and others said they were told to say they were working for a local employment agency.
Twilla said the canvassers were told to say they worked for Career Concepts, a local employment agency. Career Concepts was contracted by a Florida firm, Apple One, to assist them in locating temporary employees. A spokeswomen for Career Concepts last night said her firm did not employ the canvassers.
Sproul's role in voter registration drives this month triggered official investigations in several other states, with canvassers alleging they had been told to discard Democratic registration forms, leaving voters who thought they had registered off the rolls.
The firm has a contract with the Republican National Committee to register new voters and has operated using the name Voters Outreach of America. Sproul's chairman, Nathan Sproul, is a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party.
CNN reports that a similar investigation is going on in Oregon:
Voter Outreach of America is also under investigation in Oregon for "alteration and destruction of voter registration cards," said Anne Martens, a spokeswoman for Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury.She said her office had received numerous complaints since CNN affiliate KGW in Portland broadcast a report spotlighting an out-of-state canvasser who was registering only Republicans.
"That's how I get paid, and I am doing it for the money," said the canvasser, whom KGW identified as Mike Johnson. He said he received $5 per card. The TV report aired Tuesday -- the registration deadline in Oregon.
As with the ACORN allegations, the key here is whether these allegations can be confirmed. But if they have scripts from the organizations telling them not to register Democrats and voter registration cards that were disposed of in the group's offices, that's pretty strong evidence. The FBI and local election officials are investigating the allegations.
Politics
Comments
I don't think ACORN (who supports Obama, their former 'community organizer')is being investigated in 14 states for registering McCain supporters. I don't think Jennifer Bruner, Sec. State-Ohio has perpetrated outright voter fraud in order to support John McCain. I don't think Obama gave ACORN $800,000 of his campaign money to promote John McCain's candidacy. These instances have ALL been documented.
Posted by: FlaLady | October 6, 2008 10:15 AM
linky, linky, FlaLady?
Posted by: NJ | October 6, 2008 11:06 AM
When the R's starting talking about this, we really should have started suspecting that they might be doing the same thing. Right now these are just allegations, we'll see with time whether they have any actually validity or not, but given the Republican tendency to use Democrats as scapegoats, putting on Democrat heads the sins they themselves have committed, and then to use that scapegoating as a retroactive justification for those misdeeds, it might be helpful to begin treating their allegations against others more like confessions.
Posted by: Julian | October 6, 2008 11:20 AM
grr, that should be started. My visual cortex betrays me once again :/
Posted by: Julian | October 6, 2008 11:21 AM
Put them all in jail for the next forty years. And then investigate the allegations that popped up all over the country in 2004...
What I don't get, however, is why
- private companies are allowed to handle voter registration -- I mean, don't you have a bureaucracy in the USA, or what's up?!?
- Americans are supposed to state their party membership when they register for voting -- can't you people see that this invites discrimination?!?
- you are a party member in the USA if you simply say so. Over here the parties are membership organizations, and members pay membership fees.
And then, of course, over here you are registered for voting by means of being a citizen. But that would require that teh gubbamint knows where you live, so I understand why that wouldn't be popular in the USA...
Posted by: David Marjanović | October 6, 2008 12:28 PM
NJ, links are all over the internet. There are over 1,000,000 links to ACORN and Obama. Google ACORN and Obama, ACORN Housing and Obama, Jennifer Brunner and Ohio voter fraud (or Lou Dobbs, Ohio voter).
It's ridiculous that this isn't getting any MSM exposure.
Posted by: FlaLady | October 6, 2008 12:30 PM
You do realize that the Nevada story is from 2004 and not this year?
Posted by: John McKay | October 6, 2008 12:36 PM
Re FlaLady
Apparently Rethuglican troll Ms. FlaLady hasn't been following this blog. Mr. Brayton has already debunked this crap about ACORN. Link attached.
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/10/the_truth_about_acorn.php
Posted by: SLC | October 6, 2008 12:37 PM
Now that I read it, the Oregon story is also from 2004. I think the Republicans have moved on to an entirely new set of dirty tricks this year.
Posted by: John McKay | October 6, 2008 12:40 PM
FlaLady wrote:
No they haven't, and you haven't provided any documentation here. As SLC links to above, I just finished a major investigation of the accusations against ACORN. Almost all of them are nonsense. And they've never even been accused of trashing registration forms for any party.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | October 6, 2008 12:41 PM
If you're talking about same-day registration and voting here in Ohio, FlaLady, you may want to mention that the Republicans passed that law in 2005 with no controversy. Funny how they got their panties in a wad all of a sudden! You also forgot to mention that Republicans were also encouraging residents to register and vote in case they lost the appeals, which they did. I guess it's only voter fraud when the Democrats do it, though, right?
Posted by: ildi | October 6, 2008 12:43 PM
John McKay-
No, I had not noticed that. There's no year in the story. But I suppose I should have noticed that the date on the article was October 13, which means it had to be from a year past. Duh. I need to find out whatever happened to this investigation.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | October 6, 2008 12:44 PM
As a Canadian, I've never been able to understand this "register as a ???". In Canada you simply register to vote! Period!!
Doesn't this resolve all the problems, or am I being too simplistic?
What happens in the US if you fill in a voter registration and leave party affiliation blank?
Posted by: DonM | October 6, 2008 12:59 PM
Ugh. This gets worse. Not only is the story from 2004, it turns out that the state's investigation found no evidence to support the accusation. I screwed this one up, should have done a lot more research before posting it. Mea Culpa.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | October 6, 2008 1:00 PM
Re DonM & David Marjanović
Registering by parties is not universal in the US. For instance, in Virginia, one does not state a party preference.
Posted by: SLC | October 6, 2008 1:09 PM
Thanks SLC.
Well, one state has got it right... are there others?
Don
Posted by: DonM | October 6, 2008 1:12 PM
Imagine that. Someone posts and/or publishes something that they must then retract, and rather than stonewalling or ignoring the mistake, he owns up to it immediately upon learning that his research was well below his own standards. When something like this happens to others, the usual tactic is to bury the retraction/correction. I'm mildly disappointed in Mr. Brayton for his mistake, especially since it could have been avoided by following the procedures he always adheres to, but his immediate admission and action does not merely restore his credibility as a reliable source for informed opinion on pressing matters of the day but in fact enhances that well-earned reputation.
You do realize, though, that this will be cited as a reason to not take your work on the "Obama and ACORN" story seriously by those who have already cast their "guilty" ballot.
Posted by: jws | October 6, 2008 1:22 PM
jws wrote:
Yes, I know. But the alternative is doing what Dembski does and just disappearing the post, which would hurt my credibility far worse. Better to just admit the mistake and learn from it. That's the intellectually honest thing to do. I don't want or expect to be praised for that, it's what any honest person ought to do. I am embarrassed about this and if my credibility takes a bit of a hit, perhaps it should. I've had to do something similar to this a handful of times in the 5 years I've had this blog. And I'm sure I'll have to do it again at some point. I make mistakes. Best to admit to them and take responsibility.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | October 6, 2008 2:00 PM
David Marjanović,
In the US, the parties are considered private organizations, not governmental ones (although in recent years the courts have been shifting that, so they are now "quasi-private" organizations."
You can register directly with the government. As a consequence of the "motor voter" bill, (so called because it made voter registration available at every Department of Motor Vehicles office, so you can register when you renew your driver's license), voter registration forms are available at every government agency. Even, to the horror of Republicans, at the welfare offices.
But parties can also register people, as can any private party. We have a few student organizations at my college that have been doing so.
And because of the U.S.'s federalist structure, election stuff is predominantly handled at the state level. That means there are potentially 51 sets of election rules (50 states + the District of Columbia). So I can't speak for every state, but every state I've ever registered to vote in (and that's 4 now), has allowed you to register as a member of a party or as an independent/non-partisan.
I hope that helps clarify. I know our election system is byzantine and strange to the rest of the world. Nevertheles there is a logic to it--primarily the logic of a highly federal, rather than national, political system.
Posted by: James Hanley | October 6, 2008 2:16 PM
Re James Hanley
One should carefully distinguish between registering as an independent and not registering by party as in Virginia. In many states where one can register by party or as independent, a voter registering as an independent can't vote in a party primary. In Virginia, anybody can vote in any partys' primary (for instance, I voted for McCain in 2000 in the Rethuglican primary and Kerry in 2004 in the Democratic primary).
Posted by: SLC | October 6, 2008 3:13 PM
This crap is one reason I'm glad I vote in Maine. My voter registration was simple, I showed up on election day, filled out the card, and voted right there. Why more states don't do this I just don't understand.
Posted by: Noadi | October 6, 2008 4:22 PM
Some states, VA, WI, ME, have rather easy voter registration requirements. Others, AZ, TX (I believe) require that voters register weeks in advance and that they register either as Democrat, Republican, Independent, or "No Party Affiliation." In those states that require such designations they usually have closed primaries. IE if I am a Democrat in Arizona I have to vote in the Democratic primary, Republican, Republican Primary. If I am an independent or "no party" I don't get to vote in those primaries. Generally the states that have fewer restrictions have more open primaries.
Posted by: dogmeatib | October 6, 2008 7:54 PM
I didn't have to state a party preference registering to vote in Ohio.
Posted by: Prof. Bleen | October 6, 2008 11:07 PM
Hmmmm. I would consider it as a reason to take his work more seriously. Such a willingness to admit fallibility indicates that Ed takes care with his research and his writing. And I give the opinions of such people considerably more weight, even if I disagree with them.
Posted by: NJ | October 7, 2008 10:36 AM
More accusations against ACORN:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_el_ge/voter_fraud
This group sure seems like a sleazy one.
Posted by: mroberts | October 8, 2008 11:51 PM
The reason you keep reading about accusations against ACORN is because the Republicans keep making accusations, not because they have been shown to do anything illegal. In fact, unlike those 2004 accusations against GOP operatives, what ACORN has allegedly done wrong is to have followed the law and turned in every registration form it collected. If ACORN were to on its own decide a form is fraudulent and not submit it, then they would be doing something wrong.
The fraud here has been by ACORN employees against ACORN, employees submitting bogus forms to collect their paycheck. If ACORN is guilty of anything, it is of not doing a good job screening canvassers it hires. Certainly they should be able to find some better employees these days given all the good people out of work in the BUSH-MCPAIN economy.
Bottom line, McPain-Failin can't connect on the issues that matter to voters, so they have turned to desperation tactics to distract the voters -- Ayers (yesterday's news, didn't work so now we try plan B), ACORN, Joe the fake plumber (It is only socialism if you are helping the non-wealthy, when you take from the poor and give to the rich, that is capitalism, not corporate welfare *LMAO*.
Problem is, folks have finally caught on that the whole trickle down theory is a crock. They have seen the results of Dumbya's tax cuts-tax cuts-tax cuts philosophy, and it ain't pretty unless you are a CEO, or an aspiring call center worker in New Delhi.
Posted by: CountryFirst | October 20, 2008 9:41 AM
ACORN: The "Swiftboat" of 2008 (just less successful), keep sceptical America! -DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | October 20, 2008 10:15 AM