Voting rights group’s error costs over 1000 potential voters a November ballot

Evergeen Freedom Foundation

10/25/06

OLYMPIA, WA —Jonathan Bechtle, Director of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s Voter Integrity Project, released the following statement in response to news that 1,100 potential King County voters will not be eligible to vote in November’s election after Project Vote submitted their voter registrations forms after the filing deadline.

“Ironic. That’s what you call it when a group that sues the state to let potentially improperly registered and illegal voters vote turns in new voter registration forms late. More than one thousand possible new voters will not be able to vote in November.

“Last week’s news that Project Vote failed to mail 1,100 voter registrations in on time, forcing King County to delay the registrations until after the November election, is only the latest example of the group’s disdain for election laws.

“Project Vote is the voter registration arm of American Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and is known for conducting massive national voter registration drives in recent elections. During the 2004 election cycle, its employees had numerous run-ins with laws in several states over allegations of submitting fraudulent and erroneous voter registrations. For example, out of 5,300 voter registration cards the group submitted in St. Louis, only 37% were valid.

“In the current election cycle, the group has already made headlines in Missouri for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration cards, with similar cards also found and rejected in Philadelphia, Denver and several Ohio counties.

“When not filing invalid voter cards, ACORN has been busy suing states like Washington for having too much election security. The group is a plaintiff in Washington Association of Churches v. Reed, a recent lawsuit filed in opposition to a law requiring county auditors to verify the identity of new voter registrants by way of drivers’ license or other vital records.

“In arguing the case, ACORN and its allies managed to find two voters who they alleged had been disenfranchised by the verification law. After the judge ruled in their favor, it was discovered the two voters hadn’t even been eligible to vote in the elections they claimed they were disenfranchised in.

“So, in just two months, ACORN has managed to strip away a necessary voter registration security law, thus making it easier to cast illegal votes and cost over one thousand potential new voters a ballot in November by filing their forms late.

“Maybe they should think about changing their name to Project No-Vote.”

ACORN’s role in the case of Washington Association of Churches v. Reed will be investigated in a comprehensive report released by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation within the next two weeks. The report will examine the case, its major players, and what it means for the future of Washington’s elections.