Campaign News

Politicians in Nevada are at it again. Seven months after executing a carefully staged raid on the Las Vegas ACORN office - a publicity stunt purporting to gather evidence of "voter fraud" in ACORN's 2008 voter registration drive - Nevada's attorney general and secretary of state today announced that they were filing a complaint against ACORN and two voter registration managers. Specifically, the complaint alleges that ACORN implemented a "corporate mandated quota system," and that bonuses were paid for exceeding this quota, in violation of a Nevada statute that prohibits payment based on the total number of registrations.

What the attorney general and secretary of state did NOT announce were any indictments against any of the 44 individual canvassers ACORN identified...

On Nov. 4, ACORN members reported a mood of excitement at polling places all across the country as voters young and old, new and seasoned, stood in long lines and encountered occasional bureaucratic hurdles to participate in the future of American democracy.

In Pittsburgh, 100-year-old Lillian Allen, an ACORN member for 15 years, did more than vote – before heading to the polls, she walked through her neighborhood knocking on her neighbors' doors to make sure they were voting, too.

Allen, who was born before either women or African-Americans won the right to vote, called it a privilege to vote in this election. "When I got a chance to vote, I voted!" said Allen.

Click here to watch a news report about Lillian Allen on Election Day from KDKA Pittsburgh.

In Philadelphia, a woma...

While ACORN's record-breaking voter registration campaign – and the partisan attacks which followed – have been much in the news lately, ACORN members and organizers are hard at work conducting extensive Get out the Vote programs to make sure that ACORN members, new registrants, immigrant citizens, young people, and infrequent voters in low-income and minority communities participate in this historic election.

In Minneapolis, ACORN kicked off its final week of nonpartisan Get out the Vote efforts Oct. 28 at an event attended by elected officials and allies, focusing on the importance of ensuring that all eligible voters are able to participate in Tuesday's democratic process.

"We are more focused than ever in assuring that low- and moderate-income families, people of color, and...

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Two lawsuits, one attempting to restrict voters' attire and one in which the GOP attempted to force ACORN to turn over its list of Pennsylvania registered voters, were defeated in state court Oct. 30.

In the suit against ACORN, state GOP officials had filed a preliminary injunction against the community group, attempting to get the state to force ACORN to turn over its list of voters it has registered and seeking to order the group to pay for public service announcements reminding first-time voters that they must bring identification to the polls.

"We are pleased the court saw through the Plaintiffs' blatant attempt at voter suppression and fear mongering to deny the Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction," said Pennsylvania ACORN Board Member Carol H...

Releases 30-Second Ad, Announces Lawsuits

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Oct. 29, ACORN released its first-ever 30-second ad on voter suppression, calling on Sen. John McCain to put an end to these tactics.  ACORN also announced lawsuits intended to combat a series of attempts at voter suppression.

In the ad, ACORN highlighted widespread voter suppression attacks and called on the public to tell McCain, "Not this time."

At a press conference announcing the ad, ACORN Executive Director Steve Kest echoed this sentiment.

"Senator McCain needs to instruct his operatives and supporters to cease and desist. Nothing is more important to the fabric of our democracy than protecting the rights of American voters. Senator McCain should instead join us in trying to make i...

ACORN recently worked to stop Republican voter suppression tactics in New Mexico and Michigan.

ACORN debunked New Mexico Republican Party claim that fraudulent voters - some of whom registered with ACORN - participated in the June 2008 Democratic primary. ACORN contacted the voters the Republican party mentioned during a press conference and confirmed their legitimacy through the Bernalillo County Clerk. All are first-time voters - three 18 and 19-year-olds and a new citizen. ACORN presented its findings at a press conference Oct. 18 in New Mexico. "This is un-American," said Celestina Balderas, an ACORN leader. "What we have learned today is that a new citizen who votes in America now risks getting attacked by the Republican Party. ACORN will not allow this to scare off ne...

ACORN has just completed the largest, most successful nonpartisan voter registration drive in U.S. history. We submitted 1.3 million applications to register to vote from low-income, minority and young voters across the country.

Unfortunately, just as in 2006, that success in bringing people into the democratic process, have been greeted with unfounded accusations to disparage our work and help maintain the status quo of an unbalanced electorate.

After a similar spate of charges against ACORN in 2006, we learned that then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had fired Republican U.S. Attorneys because they refused to prosecute ACORN and other voter assistance groups on trumped up fraud charges. This was the heart of the U.S. Attorney-gate scandal that led Karl Rove, Gonzales and other to...

Over the past year, ACORN has worked hard to help over 80,000 people in Clark County register to vote.

Hundreds of canvassers and volunteers have worked for months talking to citizens from Nevada’s most disenfranchised communities and encouraging them to exercise their right to participate in our democracy. Their work has been tireless—they deserve a great deal of credit for spending days in the hot sun at public places from parks to community centers to shopping centers helping citizens complete voter registration applications. Most of the 80,000 registrations they have collected and turned in to election officials come from young people, low income people and minorities—the very people whose voices are too often left out of our electorate.

As part of our nonpartisan voter registratio...

On Oct. 6, ACORN and Project Vote announced the conclusion of the most successful nonpartisan voter registration drive in history, assisting more than 1.3 million Americans in completing applications to register to vote in 21 states.

"We met with unprecedented success in our efforts to ensure that all eligible applicants are on the voter rolls," said Michael Slater, Executive Director of Project Vote.

Slater said that the voter registration system in the United States – in which individual voters are responsible for getting on the rolls, unlike many European countries in which governments take responsibility for compiling voter lists – was designed to disenfranchise voters.

Bertha Lewis, Interim Chief Organizer of ACORN, said that the majority of the voters register...

DENVER, Colo. -- During a presentation Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, ACORN leaders announced that the organization has registered more than 1.1 million eligible voters this election season. ACORN's goal is to help register 1.5 million new voters in what is believed to be the largest non-partisan voter registration drive in modern-day history.

"Our voter registration effort has been wildly successful," said ACORN member Carmen Arias of Phoenix, Ariz. "We are well on our way to achieving our goal."

ACORN members hosted a "Bagels and Ballots" breakfast for Democratic leaders and delegates, outlining the organization’s Grassroots Democracy Project and partnerships with coalitions that help improve the lives of low- and moderate-income people...