The Truth About ACORN

Because the Republicans need an enemy and a boogie man in every election, an organization dedicated for over thirty-five years to the enfranchisement of the underrepresented has been viciously slandered this cycle. Well, the good news is the actual truth about ACORN is starting to come out.

Let’s be clear about one very important thing. The reason ACORN is the focal point of the combined national efforts of the Republicans is because we recently completed the largest non-partisan voter registration drive in U.S. history. We helped 1.3 million low-income people, people of color, and young people complete voter registration applications.

These new voters terrify the GOP so much that they have mobilized the entire machinery of their party, and perhaps even the Justice Department in a sordid replay of the US Attorneys scandal from 2006 to keep these new voters from the polls. - OpenLeft

ACORN is dedicated to the proposition that if you have the right to vote, you should register and use that right. The most under-represented population in terms of registered voters is always those of low incomes and in minority groups. These are citizens whose right to vote is often questioned because they have to move frequently for job or housing reasons, and are not often afforded their right to vote because of overly restrictive registration rules.

Imagine your home was foreclosed upon. Imagine you have faith in our system, and believe that your vote can make a difference in determining whether you and the millions of people like you who have lost their homes can get some relief from the rapacious business practices that landed you in the mess you are in.

Now imagine your right to vote was questioned because you lost your house. Not only have you lost your home, but now you've lost your right to vote! It is repellent behavior, and it is the kind of thing ACORN has fought against. And it is for that reason that the Republicans have branded ACORN enemy number one.

So who is ACORN, and what is this all about? Watch, and learn.



Some very important things to note in any discussion about ACORN and "voter fraud." First, there is only the smallest handful of actual voter fraud cases in the entire country. In fact, there has been a vastly bigger problem with misleading and disenfranchising legal voters than allowing illegal voters to vote. Second, ACORN is legally obligated in many cases to turn in every registration from it receives, even those ACORN itself deems suspect. To blame ACORN for turning in questionable registration forms when it is legally required to turn in every form it receives is more than just ignorant, it is willfully spiteful. Finally, Of the over 1.3 million voter registration cards ACORN submitted, only 1.5% were "suspicious" and ACORN flagged those as such when submitting them (remember, they're legally required to submit ALL of them!) to the registrars in question.

Imagine if only 1.5% of federally backed home loans had been questionable? Or only 1.5% of the assumptions about the Iraq war had been wrong? Or only 1.5% of New Orleans had been abandoned by FEMA during Katrina? In any other field of work, a 1.5% error rate would be remarkably good.

But the Republicans need a boogie man.

Tell John McCain and the Republicans to stop scapegoating ACORN. Go to www.acorn.org/truth and send them a note. Organizations that advocate for those without voices are always being badmouthed by Republicans, it's up to progressives to stand up and defend our partners in making America a stronger nation.