Group slams GOP 'hacks' over voting charges

ACORN accuses GOP of trumping up claims of fraud

| The Associated Press

10/18/2008 -

ALBUQUERQUE —The community activist group ACORN fired back Saturday at New Mexico Republicans and their claims of voter fraud in June's Democratic primary.

ACORN organizers said that since the vote-fraud charges were leveled by GOP leaders on Thursday, they have contacted four or five of the 28 allegedly "suspect" Albuquerque voters.

They said those voters confirmed that the allegations, including problems on voter registration forms like inaccurate Social Security numbers or birth dates, were simply wrong.

But State Republican Party representatives said only two voters out of 16 named in their investigation have come forward to deny the charges, and they stand by their assertion that voter fraud remains a problem in New Mexico. "The bottom line is that two out of 16 is not a good batting average," said Pat Rogers, an attorney who advises the GOP.

Matthew Henderson, a lead organizer for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, said he believed the GOP had deliberately trumped up the allegations to scare newly registered voters, including youths and Americans who had recently gained citizenship. He said, however, that ACORN had been unable to contact all 28 GOP-deemed "suspect" voters to vouch for the legitimacy of each of them.

Among those who said she was blindsided and angered by the Republicans' allegations was 18-year-old Brittany Rivera. At a news conference, she said she was at first scared to learn she'd been labeled as a "suspect" voter and her name and personal information had been forwarded to law enforcement. "You guys are trying to scare us new voters," Rivera said of the GOP. "I think it's wrong."

According to Rivera and her mother, she accurately filled in and mailed her registration form on time after her mother picked up the paperwork for her at the nursing home where she works.

She said being targeted as a bogus voter is "crazy," and she is now "more determined" to vote in the future. She said she planned to vote Saturday, when early voting began in New Mexico.

ACORN officials said the GOP should apologize to the voters like Rivera.

"These are real people, real voters who voted legally," Henderson said. "Today is proof that their party hacks were shooting from the hip."

Republican representatives said New Mexico needs stricter laws to ensure the legitimacy of every voter and better enforcement by county clerks of laws already on the books.

"We want every vote to count, and we don't want an illegitimate vote to cancel out a legitimate vote," said Nazarena "Nina" Martinez, secretary of the state GOP.

Rogers said a private investigator hired by the state Republican Party found Rivera and others like her have Social Security numbers on their voter registration forms that are being used by other people. They may be legitimate voters and could be victims of identity theft.

On Thursday, state Rep. Justine Fox-Young, an Albuquerque Republican, said a review of 92 newly registered voters in House District 13 had turned up the 28 suspect voters. She displayed voter registration cards for 10 of the suspect voters, saying they showed missing or inaccurate Social Security numbers or birth dates.

Fox-Young said they targeted that particular House district for review because of high activity by third-party groups and the large number of new voter registrations there. She said several of the suspect voters were registered by ACORN, which has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for its voter registration practices.