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ACORN canvassers are facing convictions for voter registration fraud in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so what does ACORN do?

Sue to change the statute that outlaws the fraud, of course.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and ACORN's get-out-the-dead-people-to-vote affiliate Project Vote filed a federal lawsuit today in an effort to snuff out the Keystone State's anti-election fraud law.

According to the ACLU the law has been misapplied by Allegheny County's Democratic District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr., who filed seven charges against former ACORN workers for falsifying voter registration forms. After preliminary hearings, all seven have been ordered to stand trial.

In a press release, the ACLU said the law has been misapplied "to prohibit an organization from using flexible productivity standards and goals to manage paid canvassers."

Translation: efforts to crack down on election fraud are bad because, well, they crack down on election fraud.

"They already charged the employees, and they've hinted they might go after ACORN next," the New York Times dutifully quoted Witold Walczak of the ACLU saying. "It's the ACLU's reading of this, that these kind of laws that restrict an organization's ability to hire and pay canvassers impacts on voter registration activities, which are constitutionally protected actions."

The New York Times, of course, is a business partner with one of ACORN's business partners, and it covered up a potential scandal involving ACORN and the Obama campaign.

View all comments (4) | Leave a comment

Matthew Vadum| 7.23.09 @ 11:47AM

Not a single comment? Where is Bob when we need him?

Missy| 7.23.09 @ 2:52PM

Matt, you need Bob like you need a hole in the head.

Matthew Vadum| 7.23.09 @ 4:52PM

Missy, I was just amazed he wasn't jumping all over me, but I guess he cares more about CRA than ACORN.

Brad Schwartze| 7.26.09 @ 5:47PM

Matthew, I hate to tell you this, but ACORN and the ACLU may end up winning this. See Meyer v Grant (1988), a case that struck down Colorado's law making it a felony to pay initiative/referendum signature gatherers. SCOTUS agreed with the plaintiffs that the prohibition on payment was a violation of their First Amendment rights.

The first district court that hears this isn't going to make a distinction based on "productivity standards."

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More Blog Posts by Matthew Vadum

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/07/23/aclu-acorn-sue-to-overturn-pen

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