ACORN leaders: Allegations against us are partisan attacks that will melt away

Several ACORN leaders held a conference call to try to dispense the allegations and rumors surrounding their organization. ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, seeks to make change in poor and middle income communities by taking action such as fighting against predatory lending and working to get living wages.

Right wingers are manufacturing a “so-called crisis of voter fraud,” said Brian Kettenring, the head organizer of Florida ACORN and spokesman for national ACORN, “and frankly they’re having some success.” They are doing this in order to pass legislation aimed at “constricting the electorate, narrowing the electorate, keeping people from being able to vote. That’s the big picture of what this is about,” said Kettenring.

ACORN partnered with Project Vote in a non-partisan effort to register middle and lower income citizens, primarily minorities, to vote. Although they have been hugely successful and have registered 1.3 million citizens, they have been the subject of much controversy and many allegations of voter fraud.

Michael Slater, Executive Director of Project Vote, explained in detail the way in which ACORN registers people. Every voter registration card is reviewed, and if it is questionable we turn it over to election authorities, said Slater. Slater said that there were some instances in which partisans turned in fraudulent cards, then incited ACORN as the perpetrator in vote fraud.

ACORN has been the target of similar voting fraud accusations in past elections, but Kettenring pointed out that investigations into ACORN have not found any evidence of voter fraud. “There are a lot of allegations out there,” said Kettenring, “but really at the end of the day they will melt away, and amount to nothing to what they are which is a partisan attack.”

Congress investigates Federal Justice System for selective prosecution

The Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law and the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a second hearing to address "Allegations of Selective Prosecution" and "The Erosion of Public Confidence in Our Federal Justice System."

Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA) said the Judiciary Committee has previously investigated "whether the Department of Justice has allowed politics to seep into its decision-making" and now turns its attention to allegations of "Democrats being disproportionately targeted for Federal prosecutions under the current Administration." Sanchez also raised concerns that the DOJ has "investigated allegations of voter fraud" but has ignored vote suppression, citing many recent incidents of Republican efforts to deter non-Republican voters and thwart opposition "get out the vote" campaigns in the 2002 and 2004 elections. Sanchez said that the DOJ's failure to send a witness to testify despite an invitation was "unfortunate."

Witness Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) testified about the 2002 Election Day phone-jamming operation conducted by Republican political operatives, noting that witness Allen Raymond had pled guilty for his involvement in the case and that former Republican National Committee Director James Tobin was convicted as well and later acquitted on appeal. He said that it is "unclear" whether the White House was involved in the scandal despite suspicious phone calls made to the White House that day, although witness Paul Twomey said there was "numerous evidence" of its involvement. Finally, Hodes said that there were "major delays" in prosecuting the case and that the DOJ had "at the very least" a "conflict of interest" in its investigation, and Twomey said that the DOJ has "decidedly Republican" interests.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said that previous hearings had shown "there was no illegal or unethical conduct" and cited former Rep. Bob Ney's (R-OH) 2004 congressional case as evidence that the DOJ was "using politics to help one party over another." Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) countered by saying that the hearing was discussing people who had violated laws and been found guilty and said that "the RNC is in big trouble."

Witness Mark Crispin Miller, political analyst and NYU professor, said the DOJ should work to prosecute unlawful Democratic practices as well, and deplored electronic ballot counting machines as a "secret vote count." He said that voter fraud is a "minor problem" that would be much better solved by video cameras in voting areas as opposed to "laws that disenfranchise tens of thousands of people."