How many people will ACORN register to vote for the 2008 election?
ACORN helps eligible citizens to register to vote by engaging people in public areas such as libraries, grocery store parking lots, bus stops and college campuses and asking them to fill out voter registration applications. Only local boards of election offices register people to vote (adds people to voter rolls).
ACORN helped 1.3 million low- and moderate-income citizens to register to vote this election year from low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color.
Does ACORN help young people to register to vote?
Yes. Some ACORN offices even send workers to high schools to help students who will be of age to vote in time for the 2008 presidential election to register to vote. Half of the people ACORN helps to register to vote are under 30.
Where is ACORN helping people to register to vote?
ACORN has recently completed large voter registration drives in 26 states. Some of these states are Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas andWisconsin. While ACORN may conduct large scale efforts in these 26 states, any ACORN office will help anyone register to vote who asks for help.
Why does ACORN focus registration drives in low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color?
ACORN wants every citizen who is eligible to vote to participate in the democratic process. We want everyone to have a voice. Our voter registration drives are nonpartisan, and we will help any American citizen to register to vote who wants to vote, regardless of party affiliation or economic circumstance; however, ACORN is a social justice organization that has historically championed causes that help low- and moderate-income communities. Frequently these communities are also communities of color.
Research shows a disparity in the American electorate. Citizens from low-income areas and members of some ethnic minorities are underrepresented compared to citizens from predominantly white, wealthier communities.
ACORN is working hard to correct this imbalance and make sure all Americans have a voice in government. To read more about disparities in the American electorate, check out this Project Vote report, Representational Bias in the 2006 Electorate.
I've read that ACORN's been convicted of voter fraud. Is that true?
No. Due to our highly successful voter registration campaigns, ACORN has unfortunately come under attack by those who fear that Latino, African American, and low-income voters may not support the same candidates and policies that they do.
The goals of the people orchestrating partisan attacks against are to distract ACORN from helping people vote and to justify massive voter suppression.
In 2004 and 2006, attacks against voter registration drives were orchestrated by political forces that have since been exposed by the U.S. Attorneygate scandal to have been working in conjunction with a politicized Department of Justice to push a partisan agenda of voter suppression.
In 2008, Republican operatives have already:
- Tried to prevent Ohio from registering voters at its early voting sites
- Admitted plans to use foreclosure notices to challenge thousands of voters in Michigan
- Gone to court to try to block early voting in Lake County Indiana.
ACORN’s Quality Control System
ACORN has dedicated Quality Control staff which calls the person listed on every card to verify information.
- ACORN alerts election officials whenever its Quality Control staff find a card that appears to be a duplicate or problematic.
- In most states, the law requires that every signed card be turned into election officials, even if it is fake or incomplete.
- ACORN is now being attacked by partisan officials over problematic cards that ACORN itself pointed out, in writing, to election officials.
ACORN employed thousands of part-time canvassers to work on its voter registration drives, and most of these individuals did a great job.
- In the relatively few cases where some canvassers have turned in bad voter registration cards, there has never been any evidence that so-called “voter fraud” was the motive.
- As these cases prove, it is extraordinarily difficult to falsely register to vote, and fraudulent voting by individuals is extremely rare.
- Rather, these cases appear to be nothing more than former part-time workers trying to get paid for doing work they didn’t do—like a store clerk shoplifting from his or her employer.
We want accurate voter rolls just like all other concerned citizens. ACORN wants fair elections in which the rights of all voters are respected.
ACORN and its 400,000+ member families will not be intimidated. ACORN is committed to empowering local low- and moderate-income residents by bringing them into the democratic process and ensuring that they have a say in the issues that affect them most.
Here are suggested links for visitors who want the truth about voter fraud and voter suppression:
- The Politics of Voter Fraud, Project Vote
- The Truth About Voter Fraud, Brennan Center for Justice
- Project Vote's DOJ Watch
- Administration Pursued Aggressive Legal Effort to Restrict Voter Turnout
- In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud, New York Times
- The Cost of a GOP Myth, The Washington Post
- Voter Suppression article by Art Levine, American Prospect
- The Fraudulence of Voter Fraud, In these Times
- Voter Caging and Housing Works, PBS
- The Fraudulent Voter Fraud Squad, Slate.com
- Voter Fraud Charges Collapse, The St. Petersburg Times
