During the last televised Presidential debate, Senator John McCain decried that the problems at voter registration charity ACORN (Association of Community Reform Now) would lead to undermining the fundamentals of democracy. Eventual President Elect Barack Obama smiled and laughed at the vehement charges. Was the President Elect being cavalier or was he trying to cover up voter fraud?

What Was The Problem?

The problem brought to light was that many workers for ACORN were making up voter registration forms. ACORN workers get paid a commission from how many number of people they can get to register to vote. The more filled-in voter registration forms they turn in, the more they get paid. So, naturally, some workers tried to cheat.

By federal law, all voter registration forms have to be turned in to the authorities, even if they are obviously faked, such as with the named and addresses of professional athletes who lived many states away. Mickey Mouse was registered to vote in Florida. ACORN would note on the top of such applications that they thought this may not be a legitimate registration, but the form still had to be sent to the proper voter registration authorities.

When state officials received a high number of obviously faked voter registration forms