Citizen advocacy organization Common Cause has identified a series of concerns surround the upcoming election.

“Probably the biggest problem we’ve seen this election is troubles with people’s voter registration, where they’ll be going to the polls thinking that they are registered and told ‘sorry, we don’t have your name on the list’,” said Derek Cressman, Regional Director of State Operations for Western States for Common Cause.

Cressman partially attributes this to new voter verification policies, such as Florida’s hardline policy which states that voter registration data must exactly match other state information.

According to Cressman, there have been some instances when voters have been wrongfully removed from registration lists.

“We’re also particularly worried that in the final days before the election we’ll see practices that are known as voter challenges, where there’ll be partisan operatives at polling places challenging a voter’s eligibility.”

Cressman said that the organization is convinced that there are thousands of legitimate voters that have been wrongfully denied the ability to vote.

President of Common Cause Bob Edgar says that the organization has mobilized against these threats by sending thousands to work for the cause of fair elections and establishing the hotline “866-OurVote”, where voters can ask questions and confirm their registration status.

The Democratic National Committee held a conference that discussed the Republican hypocrisy of voter registration. In light of the arrest of Mark Jacoby, whose company Young Political Majors, has been accused of tricking residents of California into registering Republican, Jacoby has ties with the California Republican party and the Republican National Committee.

California Democratic Party chairman, Art Torres, said that the Democratic party does not tolerate voter fraud. Torres went on to say that “The RNC needs to immediately eliminate their ties with the committees that have been accused of voter fraud, and unfortunately, instead of doing so they have accused the Democrats of starting it.”

DNC General Counsel, Joe Sandler, brought up the issue that the RNC yells voter fraud against the Democrats, but when a Republican official is asked to list incidents of voter fraud, they are unable to do so. Sandler also criticized Republicans saying “The RNC needs to stop accusing the Democrats of voter fraud when most, if not all of the cases are on their side.”

With 14 days left until voting day, Sandler believes that this is not the last time the public will hear about voter fraud. “This is all the RNC has left, to yell voter fraud and blame it on the Democrats,” Sandler said at the end of the conference.

The Heritage Foundation hosted John Fund, author of the new book “Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy.” John Fund is a member of the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board and discussed recent voter fraud and voter suppression allegations and their effect on the upcoming election.

Fund began the talk describing the hypothetical scenario of the election resulting in a tie which would take the decision away from the voters “and put it into the hands of courts.” Fund argued that this scenario undermines the legitimacy of the electoral system as well as of the new President. America “needs the next president to take office with full legitimacy.” The discussion highlighted the concept that if Americans are seeing voter fraud and suppression become more prevalent before the election, it may be a clue to the problems that will take place on November 4.

ACORN leaders held a press conference, trying to disprove the allegations of voter registration fraud. Reverend Gloria Swierenga, President of the Maryland ACORN, was concerned that these allegations made by the right wing would deter voters from the polls on November 4th. “We will not fall to those that have banded against us because of popularity in the national polls. We must unite through our ability to vote,” Swierenga said at the press conference.

Kathryn Kolbert, Chair of the American Way, believes that there will be issues on election day voting day, but not the issues that the right wing keeps talking about. Kolbert said that people should not be shocked at the McCain camp for bringing up voter fraud because ACORN registers low-income citizens who usually vote for the democrat side. “The McCain camp has tried to suppress the lower income families for years and they believe this is the way they can succeed at it,” Kolbert said at the press conference.

ACORN has claimed that they should not be blamed for voter fraud, it is not them who should be blamed for the fraud accusations but it should be the registration authority who should be blamed. ACORN also believes that the right wing media has fabricated everything on the voter fraud issue and they feel that the truth will be seen by November 4th.

Obama For America General Counsel Bob Bauer refutes many of the accusations that have been made about the links between Obama and ACORN, the Association for Community Organizers for Reform Now. (1:00)

 

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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.”

Brian Kettenring, spokesman for ACORN, speaks about how right-wingers are attacking ACORN in a larger effort to reduce the electorate. (0:49)

 

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Brian Kettenring, a spokesman for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, explains that the allegations against ACORN will melt away. (0:21)

 

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At a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing on voter fraud lessons learned from the 2004 Presidential election, Cleta Mitchell, a partner at Foley & Lardner, LLP, cites the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as widespread voter fraud by fabricating voter registrations for dead, underage, and “mythical” people. She calls on the Committee and the Department of Justice to begin an investigation on ACORN’s illegal activities.(0:44)

 

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The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on lessons learned from the 2004 Presidential election that can be used to improve the upcoming election. Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said the past two Presidential elections depleted the American people’s trust in the fairness of elections.

Congressman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said the election process is the “lifeblood of democracy” and without its legitimacy, there can be no leaders. With a record turnout of voters expected, Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) said the Department of Justice should work to assure that the next election is the fairest in years.

Dan Tokaji, Associate Professor of Law and Associate Director of Election Law at the Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz School of Law, said there is significant room for improvement in elections fairness. He said that clear rules on transparency must be established before the elections. Despite admitting existent fraud, he said that legislation against it is often fueled by hyperbolic claims. Cleta Mitchell, a partner at Foley & Lardner cited the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as the largest perpetrator of elections fraud, fictionalizing voter registrations for underage voters and dead people. She said that voter fraud is widespread and not taken seriously, threatening the accuracy and legitimacy of elections.