An liberal activist group that is being investigated by the FBI for suspected voter fraud in at least eight states is now under investigation here in San Diego.Accusations against ACORN include attempts to register voters under the names of the deceased and Disney characters.
San Diego's Registrar of Voters is taking steps to fight the possible fraud.
While investigators determine whether ACORN's problem is a conspiracy to commit voter fraud or just a few "problem workers" looking to pad their paychecks--as ACORN representatives claim--the group's registration of thousands of voters in San Diego is now suspect.
According to the Registrar's office, ACORN submitted more than 26,000 affidavits between January and September 2008, more than any other county in California. Some 4,600 affidavits were initially "red-flagged" for incomplete or invalid information, such as missing birthdays or bogus addresses.
Ultimately, about 7 percent of those questionable applications were rejected. Some were handed over to the Secretary of State's office for investigation.
The investigation is playing out in real-time in the presidential race, with the McCain campaign informing potential voters of Barack Obama's longstanding ties to the organization in Chicago.
A national spokesman for ACORN said it works to identify potentially fraudulent voter registrations by its employees and notifies election officials of any potential cases of fraud.
The national spokesman said that the problem is an issue of a few problem workers and not voter fraud.
News 8 tried unsuccessfully to speak with local ACORN representatives by phone and in person.
The 26,000 voter registration affidavits ACORN submitted between January and September 2008 represent less than 2 percent of San Diego County's 1.4 million voters.
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