The American Spectator

In a development that was (unsurprisingly) ignored by the mainstream media, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) was convicted of the felony of unlawful “compensation” in the registration of voters. Nevada outlaws compensating voter registration canvassers based on the quantity of registrations. The rationale is that basing pay on how many registrations one can obtain provides a financial incentive for canvassers to invent people and do sloppy work.

ACORN faces a fine of up to —wait for it— a whole $5,000. Two senior ACORN executives who participated in the conspiracy already cut deals with prosecutors and received slaps on the wrist.

Given how many ACORN employees have already been convicted of voter fraud (a blanket term referring to a variety of election-related improprieties) across the nation this conviction of ACORN itself —the first time ACORN has ever been convicted of such an offense— would seem to provide an opening for a federal prosecution under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

I have an op-ed in the Washington Times today on the topic. Here’s the top of it:

Are Mickey Mouse and Mary Poppins registered to vote in Nevada? In a Las Vegas courtroom last week, prosecutors found the fictional characters not guilty but convicted those impersonating them of voter fraud.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the radical left-wing activist group, was convicted in a massive voter-fraud conspiracy. It has been committing identify theft for decades.

ACORN pleaded guilty to unlawful “compensation” for registration of voters, a felony under Nevada law. The plea came after senior ACORN executives Amy Adele Busefink and Christopher Howell Edwards were convicted of providing cash bonuses to voter-registration canvassers for exceeding daily registration quotas. Campaign workers received cash if they registered 21 voters or more. Fittingly, the Las Vegas-based program was called Blackjack.

Mr. Mouse, Ms. Poppins and various celebrities living and dead have been registered to vote over and over again precisely because ACORN has been allowed to get away with polluting the nation’s voter rolls for so long.

Significantly, this is the first time ACORN itself, as opposed to its individual employees, has been convicted of a crime. The fact that the nonprofit entity was found guilty strongly suggests that ACORN’s ambitious voter-fraud schemes were sanctioned at the highest levels.

This is not the first time that ACORN has found itself in legal hot water. […]

For more on ACORN and its intimate ties to the Obama administration, check out my upcoming book, Subversion Inc.: How Obama’s ACORN Red Shirts Are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers.