http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081016/D93RT3100.html

Officials: FBI investigates ACORN for voter fraud
 

Oct 16, 7:39 PM (ET)

By LARA JAKES JORDAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI is investigating whether the community 
activist group ACORN helped foster voter registration fraud around the 
nation before the presidential election. A senior law enforcement 
official confirmed the investigation to The Associated Press on 
Thursday.

A second senior law enforcement official says the FBI was looking at 
results of recent raids on ACORN offices in several states for any 
evidence of a coordinated national scam.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Justice 
Department regulations forbid discussing ongoing investigations 
particularly so close to an election.

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, says 
it has registered 1.3 million young people, minorities and poor and 
working-class voters - most of whom tend to be Democrats.

Republican accusations about the group were raised during Wednesday's 
presidential debate between Democrat Barack Obama and GOP candidate John 
McCain.

Some ACORN employees have been accused of submitting false voter 
registration forms - including some signed 'Mickey Mouse' or other 
fictitious characters.

Those voter registration cards have become the focus of fraud 
investigations in Nevada, Connecticut, Missouri and at least five other 
states. Election officials in Ohio and North Carolina also recently 
questioned the group's voter forms.

ACORN has said the "vast majority" of its workers are conscientious, but 
some might have turned in duplicate applications or provided fake 
information to pad their pay. Workers caught submitting false 
information have been fired, ACORN officials say.

ACORN says laws in a number of states require it to submit all 
registration cards it collects even dubious ones, so its workers 
segregate applications with missing, suspicious or false information and 
flag them so state election officials can quickly check them further. 

CMPQwk 1.42-21 9999 
Democrats --  The party of economic destruction ....

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