Nonprofit Group Accused of Voter Fraud

An advocacy group that registered 1.2 million largely poor and Democratic voters in 2004 is facing allegations of voter fraud before this year’s elections, reports The Associated Press.

Applications for new voters submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as Acorn, could be rejected in Denver and Philadelphia and by several counties in Ohio. In some cases, information was missing or addresses were proved not to exist. In other cases, signatures were forged and at least one dead person was signed up to vote.

In the past few years, Republicans have been critical of the group, which faced allegations of misconduct in Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Virginia in 2004 and Missouri in 2003. It is leading registration drives in 17 states this year.

The nonprofit group focuses its efforts on poor neighborhoods, placing canvassers at gas stations, for instance, to find people it says are traditionally left out of the voter process. Acorn responded to the latest charges by saying it would fire anyone caught engaging in improper behavior.