about ACORN's latest troubles--does anybody besides me wonder if all those fake registrations were

[niyad]

actually the work of repuke operatives, who hired on precisely to cause trouble? the whole thing strikes me as just a bit too convenient for the gop.

[applegrove]

1. I think people were paid for a quota of applications. And they hired people

in dire need of money. Was a recipe for disaster.

[niyad]

2. it just strikes me as way too convenient for the gop--and there were so many of these apps. but

then, I am quite cynical and suspicious by nature, especially when it comes to the reichwingnuts.

[applegrove]

6. The GOP has done all sorts of tricky thing with registered voters and all.

It does make one wonder. But I leave it at wonder myself until more information comes in. And I think today the information that came in was that Acorn used a quota systems and hired the unemployed, very poor, drug addicts, etc. All people who might be desperate enough to make up applicants. So I am heading in the direction of believing that.

[EFerrari]

16. No. They are paid by the hour. n/t

[soleft]

3. Someone just told me his daughter worked for Acorn

And she left because it was seriously disorganized and mismanaged. So I think it may be a case of Occom's Razor here.

The point is - the likely hood that the energy will be expended to get volunteers to show up and pretend to be any of these fake registrees is extremely low.

[niyad]

4. they weren't volunteers--they got paid.

[soleft]

13. I know, I'm talking about recruiting people to actually vote

with the false registrations. Unless someone's paying people to do that, that's what they'd have to prove.

[soleft]

14. I know, I'm talking about recruiting people to actually vote

with the false registrations. Unless someone's paying people to do that, that's what they'd have to prove.

[Orsino]

5. They wouldn't have to be.

All it takes is the inevitable few bogus forms that are guaranteed when volunteers are paid per form.

[dflprincess]

7. Apparently this isn't an unusual happening.

ACORN says it goes through all the registration forms before they send it on to the local registration office. The law requires that they send in all forms, even the obviously bogus. So they bundle the suspicious forms separately to alert the local office.

[On the Road]

9. That is a GREAT Thing to Point Out

It puts it in a different perspective entirely.

[Political Heretic]

22. It's COMPLETELY Common. But ACORN organizes poor people - THAT IS THEIR CRIME

[mdmc]

8. no

everytime people are paid to GOTV, you get this type of fraud.

ACORN will be able to stand by its work and good name.

[justiceischeap]

10. If they were paid per registration that in itself is a recipe for disaster

Doesn't matter your political affiliation, if some folks can find a way to game the system, they will. If they think they can make their job easier on themselves they will. However, I don't know if these folks got paid per registration.

I used to work in a factory where we had an hourly quota on processing returns. We used to bust our asses for the first 3 hours of our shift and then spread the work on our tally sheet to cover the rest of the night and just did a little bit of work here and there and screwed around for most of the night (I know longer hold that work ethic--I was young and dumb at the time). I consider myself a fairly moral, upstanding human being but it was easy to get away with that kind of stuff so we did.

[Stevepol]

19. ACORN doesn't have a quota: they don't pay per registration form turned in.

They give a straight salary to the canvassers they hire. Some of the canvassers are lazy and take the easy way out, just making up registrants to get the money.

But there's not need to assume Repub operatives were doing it. The number of false or fake registration forms is a result of a recent law requiring that ALL the forms be turned in, even those flagged as being likely fraudulent or made up or whatnot.

ACORN is responsible for the fact that so many of these false registrations were caught.

But the point is that these are "registration" forms. In order for there to be voter fraud, one of these false registrants (i.e. Donald Duck or Tony Romo) would have to verify their registration form and then come to vote after their registration had been verified.

This whole charade has nothing to do w/ voter fraud. It has everything to do w/ Rebub misrepresentation and fakery.

[justiceischeap]

20. Thanks for the clarification

I get that it isn't voter fraud. Vote fraud can't really happen until someone tries to vote.

[ieoeja]

11. When you're hanging out in front of a grocery store getting people at random to register to vote...

... the odds of getting a lot of bad registrations is 100%. Some people are going to file joke registrations ("Bat Man", etc). Some people are going to enter duplicate registrations unsure if they are already registered. It happens. Guaranteed.

[Overseas]

12. I think a Republica operative just pumped up a boring fact of life.

When people are paid to get voter registrations, some of those people will cheat to add extra names to get extra money.

That has happened all the time to many different groups. They just pull out the suspicious ones in a bundle when they submit the registrations because only the Secretary of State's office can throw out any cards.

The RNC took that standard issue that has never resulted in many fake votes and pumped it up to pretend it was a major issue.

Possible Reasons:
1) Taint the Obama administration with a hint of illegitimacy to be harped on after he wins. Sow doubts.

2) Get people ready for Republican efforts to slow down the voting in swing states like they did in Democratic precincts of Ohio in 2004. CHallenge voters at the polling places, pretending to be weeding out fakes, but actually just intending to slow things down, like they did in Ohio. That will get lots of voters to give up. Those who can't wait for four hours in line.

[renie408]

15. Does anybody know if this election has a drastically higher percentage

of false voter registrations than other years? I asked in another thread, but didn't get a reply.

[sohndrsmith]

18. Great question - I'm curious about this, too n/t

[yodermon]

17. do they pay per Registration? Or pay by the hour?

the ACORN guy on TV says they pay by the hour. The total conventional wisdom on the MSM and here on DU too, is that they were paid per Registration. Or is it a combination of both?

[Political Heretic]

21. ACORN HAS NO FUCKING TROUBLE - "THOSE REGISTRATIONS" = ONE FUCKING PERCENT

It's completely normal part of voter registration that you get some bogus ones. Acorn goes through and verifies all the registrations, separates the verified from the ones with missing info, separates those from the ones that they think are suspicious. Then they turn them all in after they are marked.

If a worker was turning in fake registrations to pad their resume - that's not fraud, that's EMPLOYEE THEFT - taking Acorn's money without doing the work. Oh and by the way, if that ever happened Acorn immediately fired the employee, turned their name over to the authorities and offered to help with the employee's prosecution.

Oh and further by the way - the only reason anyone even knows about these regustrations is because FUCKING ACORN REPORTED IT.

Please repeat over and over and over and over again, Attacking ACORN is

CODE FOR ATTACKING POOR PEOPLE

[Hellataz]

23. I thought that too, just like i think they HIRED joe the plumber to ambush Obama.