The
Las Vegas Sun is reporting that voter registration fraud
charges have been laid against the left-wing community activist
group ACORN.
From reading the
article I am not yet convinced that the charges were laid against
ACORN, as opposed to individuals in the employment of
ACORN. As everybody in the news business knows all too well,
early news reports sometimes get the details wrong. We'll
see.
In any
event, tThe article says
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State
Ross Miller announced Monday that voter registration fraud
charges have been filed against an organization that works with
low-income people and two of its employees in its Las Vegas
office.
The complaint includes 26 counts of voter fraud and 13 counts
for compensating those registering voters, both felonies.
The Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, Inc.,
also known as ACORN, operated a Las Vegas office that helped
register low-income voters last year.
Throughout 2008, ACORN employed canvassers to register people
to vote in Nevada, the complaint said. ACORN paid the
canvassers between $8 and $9 an hour, but made continued
employment and continued compensation based on the canvasser
registering 20 voters per shift. Those who failed to sign up 20
voters per shift were terminated, the complaint said.
From July 27 through Oct. 2 ACORN also provided additional
compensation under a bonus program called "Blackjack" or "21+"
that was based on the total number of voters a person
registered.
A canvasser who brought in 21 or more completed voter
registration forms per shift would be paid a bonus of $5.
The Blackjack program was created by employee Christopher
Edwards, field director for the Las Vegas office. ACORN
timesheets indicate that corporate officers of ACORN were aware
of the Blackjack bonus program and failed to take immediate
action to stop it. [...]
Developing...
Updated later the same day: Yes indeed ACORN
itself has been charged, as commenter MR notes below. Voter
registration fraud charges were laid in Clark County, Nevada,
against the Association of Community Organization [sic] for
Reform Now Inc., and ACORN employees Christopher Howell Edwards
and Amy Adele Busefink. A copy of the 18-page criminal
complaint may be viewed as a PDF file
here.
