ACORN Ad: Don't Let McCain Take Away Your Voting Rights

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has released a 30-second ad accusing "John McCain and the Republicans" of trying to keep people from voting. The ad highlights voter suppression from 1960 to 2000 and asks viewers to call McCain and tell him, "Not this time."

At a press conference, ACORN Executive Director Steve Kest specifically called on McCain to "join us in trying to make it easier for voters to exercise their rights, by calling for measures such as extending early voting hours, to facilitate the greatest possible participation in this historic election."

Comments

[DavidBlackburn]

With record turnout and long lines, exactly how would Republicans expect someone to vote multiple times?

[Sammy00400]

Just as important is that the more people vote, the more diluted any illegal votes are. So if anything this should be the fairest election in terms of voter fraud.

[bentax645]

Watch This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sDoyCGVacU

Now that is something to worry about.

[Goldennurse]

Some Ideas for long Voter lines:

(1) have a backpack with bottles of water and snacks,fru­it,breakfa­st bars

(2)Tissues

(3)wear layered clothing take off as it gets warmer

(4)bring reading materials

(5) be positive when speaking with your fellow voters

Remember above all..."let no obstacle stand in your way"

Go Obama!!!!!

[MsMike]

The rules on voting "straight ticket" are different in different states. North Carolina is the only state in the US where straight ticket voting does not include the Presidential race. In NC straight ticket voting only includes down ticket partisan races. If you vote straight ticket in NC, you have to vote for the President separately. Best advice: do not vote a "straight ticket". Vote for each candidate individually.
Whether or not you vote straight ticket , check your ballot very carefully before you finish voting to be sure that you actually have selected the candidates you want to vote for.
If you are worried about your vote not being counted, here are some other things you can do:
Before you vote, look at a sample ballot for your area, and read this story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/myra-armstrong/easy-steps-to-ensure-your_b_136904.html. Call the hotline number 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for advice before you go to vote or for help if you are turned away or have a problem at your election location. When you go to vote, take good ID, your cell phone, note paper & pencil. Write down and carry the hotline phone # with you.
If you ask for help from election officials, be polite but persistent. If you call the hotline number for help, give complete information and be patient.

[Squirtapotamus]

Good for you ACORN.

Thanks for standing for voting rights.

I encourage every rational being to do for ACORN what we've done for Barack and that is donate $5 or $10 dollars to the organization that is under attack from Republican smears.

There is nothing that insults a Republican more than to witness their slander turned into fundraising for the groups they blather on about. ACORN and the ACLU are our champions.

[flossophy]

Squirtapotamus, are you concerned about ACORN's voter fraud problems? This is not GOP slander... these are state investigations.

The wikipedia entry tells us that it is a corrupt bunch. But hey, they're exploi... uh helping the poor. The ends justify the means, i guess.

[research]

What are you lying about now?

Here's the Wikipedia entry, nothing about corruption there.

State investigations instigated by a corrupt and partisan justice department under you GOP.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/acorn-calls-mccain-campaign-get/story.aspx?guid=%7B3BC7A140-7F49-4278-B041-4B7015D606D9%7D&dist=hppr

[research]

FBI investigation instigated by the McCain Partisan BushCo proven corrupt AG.

Which, ACORN welcomes.

[research]

No, the wiki entry does not accuse ACORN of corruption.

[BillCarson]

Fox, McCain, Limbaugh, and their ilk are not telling the truth about ACORN. Here's an Acorn fact sheet link: http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=6500

[igor11]

just be ready for major problems in Florida....most convicted felons in florida are not allowed to vote(www.project.org). looks like polling officials are allowing many to vote anyway for the sake of expediency and public safety. these votes will be challenged by republicans, why? because most of the convicted felons are balck and are voting for Obama...this has been a backdoor stategy all along-if blacks have a higher rate of felony convictions, and if convicted felons aren't allowed to vote-voila! major reduction in the amount of valid black votes!!! i'm just sayin'.....

[research]

13% of blacks nationwide have lost thir right to vote because of felons.

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-lampo050202.asp

[NationalTreasure]

the republicans are pissing off so many Latinos by their voter intimidation and voter suppression stunts that the republicans will have generations of Latinos who will never consider voting for a republican
this the kind of crap that drove 90% of African-Americans away from the republican party and keeps them away from the republican party

[DaveC19]

Stuff like this GOP intimidation should be driving EVERYONE away from the Republican party, including whites and rural voters.

[Hare]

This is what she said. " I'm not sure if any of you are aware of this, but we know they won't tell us this at the polls."

This is confirmed to be true in Snopes

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/straightticket.asp

I went to say and it seems legit. It was about New Mexico and straight jacket

[Hare]

For those of us who normally vote "Straight Democratic", please pay close attention!!!!!

Confirmed this weekend by a group of Obama volunteers that when voting for the presidential candidate this November, you have to make sure you punch Barack's name first, then proceed to punch "Straight Democratic" or else the vote for the president won't count.

[judyc]

THIS IS INCORRECT INFORMATION GIVEN BY A TRO//

[Hare]

I am trying to help but I guess I am less helpful now, since maybe this goes by state or county, who knows now.

[Hare]

This is confirmed to be true in Snopes, I will venture to that site and see what it says. I am not a troll I am a grandma to two precious Obama babies.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/straightticket.asp

[pollwatcher123]

ITs funny that you posted this message on so many blogs here. NEWS FLASH - you're spreading false information on this site in the hopes of disenfranchising democrat voters. in Texas, the State Democratic Party has been trying to get the voting machines replaced (the 5th Circuit won't let it happen) because your advice PRESCISELY IMPACTS ALL THE Presidential vote! In Texas, and in other states with these similar machines, you will end up cancelling out your presidential ballot because you will have voted twice on the same ballot.

ADVICE: Don't vote straight ticket unless you only do that. If you want to cherry pick votes, then go one by one. But we have also had the problem of straight-ticket voting flipping from Obama to McCain. So, if you want to be extra careful, just go one by one and then verify at the end. And don't listen to HARE. He's posting in as many articles as he can the same misleading advice.

[Hare]

I got this from an e-mail of one of the few democratic African Americans in my neighborhood. I thought it was legit. I will vote Tuesday but now I'm so confused I will copy and paste your response to her and see what she has to say. I got somebody saying that even Obama in his speech in NC this morning confirmed what I posted.

[NationalTreasure]

HARE is correct about this if the voters are in North Carolina

unfortunately every state has different rules and us so many different machines that what is accurate in one state can be different in another state

[johnlee]

Acorn was and still is being seriously maligned by the republicans and the news media. It makes me wonder where were all the liberal politicians and activist speaking up for this group. Obama attempted to distance himself from Acorn when they were and still being unfairly criticized. He should have been defending them from these unjust allegations.

[JulieSA]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/us/politics/24acorn.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

"On Oct. 6, the community organizing group Acorn and an affiliated charity called Project Vote announced with jubilation that they had registered 1.3 million new voters. But it turns out the claim was a wild exaggeration, and the real number of newly registered voters nationwide is closer to 450,000, Project Vote’s executive director, Michael Slater, said in an interview.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
Investigators raided Acorn offices in Las Vegas early this month. The county registrar there says registration fraud would be much reduced if all registration workers were volunteers.

The remainder are registered voters who were changing their address and roughly 400,000 that were rejected by election officials for a variety of reasons, including duplicate registrations, incomplete forms and fraudulent submissions from low-paid field workers trying to please their supervisors, Mr. Slater acknowledged.

In registration drives, it is common for a percentage of newly registered voters to be disqualified for various reasons, although experts say the percentage is higher when groups pay workers to gather registrations. But the disclosure on Thursday that 30 percent of Acorn’s registrations were faulty was described by Republicans as further proof of what they said was Acorn’s effort to tilt the election unfairly."

[hippynanainblingland]

"Investigators raided Acorn offices in Las Vegas early this month. The county registrar there says registration fraud would be much reduced if all registration workers were volunteers."

There's no need to have only volunteers for registration workers. If the workers were told that they wouldn't get paid for fraudulent registrations, and even get charged double what they get paid for legitimate ones, the problem would be solved pretty damn quick!!!

[BillCarson]

>get charged double what they get paid for legitimate ones,

Actually Acorn workers get paid hourly, but they have to meet certain "goals" (essentially a quota)

The actual fraudulent registrations were about 1.5% of the total, which means 98.5% were either new registrations, change of address, duplicates, or incomplete registrations.

I think the best solution would be to use volunteers, or hourly workers with no quotas. It wouldn't eliminate all the problems, but it would probably reduce them.

[BillCarson]

That's a useful link. A bit further into the article is a breakdown of the numbers:

Of the total 1.3 million registrations,
34% were new registrations
34% were address changes
25% were duplicates
5% were incomplete
1.5% were fraudulent

I don't have the numbers from other registration drives, but it would seem that a 1.5% fraudulent number isn't unreasonable. Despite the hysteria and hype from the right-wing politicians and pundits, 98.5% of the registrations weren't fraudulent.

[BillCarson]

To follow-up: Here's some "rule of thumb" numbers for registration drives...

35 percent of voter drive applications were new voters
35 percent were change of address,
30 percent were duplicates or incomplete.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/politics/15vote.html?_r=1&hp&oref=login

[Kerris]

Thank God ACORN is fighting back. The organization has done untold good, not just for individual Americans, but for American democracy. It has been recognized on the international stage for the good work it does. There have been some problems, but ACORN itself was the one flagging the problems and cleaning house when the GOP decided to pounce.

The GOP has no shame -- they are willing to try to tarnish and take down an organization that has helped America live up to its promises to all of its people, by making sure all eligible voters know they have the right to vote, get registered, and are not intimidated out of their rights.

Shame on the GOP for their rabid, unfair and lying attacks on ACORN. And fantastic that ACORN is fighting back, and with such integrity and class.

[The Lorax]

Well put. I was hoping they'd hit back and they finally did!

[JulieSA]

They have used fraud and physical intimidation over the years to get what they want. They are a criminal enterprise, and they receive my tax money even though they are an arm of the Dem party.

[Kerris]

Those are false allegations. If there was proof of such things, they'd have been crushed long ago. But there is no such proof. Any misdeeds done by ACORN employees or volunteers have been flagged and brought to light by ACORN itself, and internal changes made to make sure any abuses are corrected and individuals fired. All the other trash being spouted is rubbish.... you watch too much Fox News.

[peacegurl48]

LATIONOS: Did you hear Palin give a shout out to "Joe Mama" yesterday on the campaign trail?


Obamanos! Si, se spuede!

[jorge4u]

And Republicans wonder why Latinos and other minorities refuse to join their ranks.

[tysoph]

Thanks Acorn..too bad you have to spend $ to defend your great effort to "get out the vote" but happy you are!