Washington, DC, Oct 16 -

Earlier this week, joined by fellow Wisconsin Congressmen Tom Petri and Paul Ryan, I sent letters to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, and to Wisconsin’s two US Attorneys, Steven Biskupic and Erik Peterson, calling for an investigation into the activities of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and other groups like it.

Though the letters focused on ACORN’s Wisconsin operations, this is an issue of national concern in light of recent media reports that have portrayed an organization with a pattern of vote fraud activities in several states.  Some reports of particularly egregious behavior include an attempt to register Mickey Mouse to vote in Florida, and a teenager in Ohio, who filled out 73 voter registration cards after ACORN workers begged him for signatures so they could keep their jobs.  Moreover, in our state of Wisconsin, state prosecutors recently charged a man with falsifying 54 registration forms, including one for a dead voter, and one for a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist.

I have no issues whatsoever with groups trying to register people to vote.  Voting is one of our most sacred privileges, and if we can get more Americans involved in the electoral process, then that’s great.  But I do have issues with groups, organizations, and individuals who try to game the system by falsifying voter registration forms so they can get paid, and at the same time, affect the outcome of upcoming elections.  The impact of such dishonest and illegal activity knows no bounds, because there’s no telling how much damage a falsely elected candidate is capable of. 

Given that, I am astounded by the cavalier attitude of some, who seem to think that this is a partisan complaint.  As a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial put it, “If the past is prologue, much of this ballyhoo is really about those new voters and who they might vote for.” 

Now, I don’t know about you, but the way I look at it, any occurrence of vote fraud is a problem that should be dealt with swiftly, and it should be dealt with sternly.  And yeah, I do have a problem with new voters illegally registered, regardless of which candidate benefits from them.  When you consider that the 2004 and 2000 Presidential elections in Wisconsin were determined by less than one percentage point, it’s clear to see why each and every incident of vote fraud should be investigated vigorously. 

Regardless of what the Wisconsin and national polls may show today, we still have 3 weeks to the election, and anything can happen between now then.  What should not happen, under any circumstance, is a beefing up of voter registration lists by felons, dead people, or the morally challenged, who, enticed by a pack of smokes or 6-pack of beer, have no problem registering multiple times.  Not only is that unfair to the election process and to the people of this country, it is illegal, and as such, should be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law.

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