ACORN Voter Registration Fraud & ID Theft

With the 2008 Presidential election now less than one month away, many Americans are in the midst of researching the candidates and throwing their support behind the man they trust the most. With voter registration deadlines looming in many states, unregistered voters are scrambling to complete last minute registration forms that will allow them the power to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

Many young constituents will be casting their votes for the first time as they have recently come of age. Others, are registering because this is the first election that has actually interested them. With history set to made by the election of either the first black President or the first female Vice President, those of voting age are all clamoring to have their voices heard.

The type of buzz and excitement that the 2008 election is drawing provides an almost ideal setting for identity thieves to swoop in and claim their part of the spoils. Voter registration fraud has been making the news almost daily in recent weeks. And where voter registration fraud reigns, full-blown identity theft is almost sure to follow.

At the center of recent controversy lies an organization commonly known as ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform). One of the primary roles of these community organizers during election years is to register voters in low income neighborhoods. Because ACORN workers get paid per voter they register there is a genuine conflict of interest. ACORN is facing allegations of voter registration fraud in 13 states—with seven of those states having already launched full-fledged investigations.

Because some ACORN staffers are unable to meet their quotas and face penalties like smaller paychecks or losing their jobs altogether, there has been an influx of falsified voter registration forms being filed by desperate employees. At first, they were simply registering legitimate voters multiple times (one man was pressured to register 73 times). Then fictitious people were registered. In Nevada someone registered the entire starting lineup for the Dallas Cowboys.

And, thus began the impromptu marriage of voter registration and identity theft. Seven-year-old O’jahnae Smith was registered in the state of Connecticut. All of her information was correct except the year of her birth—someone had adjusted her birth date by twenty years in order to make her more than old enough to vote. Her parents had no idea that someone had registered using the girl’s identity and think a drug-addicted relative may have been bribed to divulge the information.

In Washington, deceased Army Ranger and former NFL player, Pat Tillman was registered to vote well after the date of his passing. In Nevada, Roberta Casteel—who has been registered to vote for the past 21 year—received a letter informing her that her recent requests to register as both a Democrat and an Independent were denied. The problem was she didn’t submit forms to register as either. Yet both forms contained her address, her social security number and her date of birth. Both forms contained fraudulent signatures, neither of which matched her legitimate signature that the registrar of voters had on file.

Why ACORN’S Actions Are Alarming

Supporters of ACORN are defending the organization’s actions by claiming that a crime has not yet been committed. Fraudulently registering voters and fraudulently voting are two entirely different things, they say. Yet, the crime of identity theft has been committed the moment an existing person (or a previously existing person, in the case of the deceased) is registered to vote by someone fraudulently pretending to be that person. In fact, fraudulently signing the form is a felony.

Although the throwing of the 2008 Presidential Election could have serious ramifications for all Americans, there is even something more alarming about ACORN’s actions. Those working for the organization have fraudulently obtained people’s private personal information including social security numbers, dates of birth and addresses. The information they are filing in on voter registration forms is the exact same information they would need to fill out a credit card or loan application. And, if those accused are claiming they are fraudulently registering people because they need the money ACORN is paying them, what’s going to stop them from fraudulently obtaining credit because they need the money? A felony is a felony. Those who are willing to commit one will likely be willing to commit another—especially when all the information they need to do it is already in their possession.

How to Protect Yourself

The number of fraudulent voter registrations being filed varies from state to state. But Nevada alone estimates that as many as 2,000-3,000 fraudulent forms are being submitted by ACORN per week. Across the nation, the number of fraudulent registrations could be well into the hundreds of thousands. That’s why it’s extremely important that each person be vigilant when it comes to protecting his or her own identity as well as that of any children or deceased relatives who may be at risk.

Right now there is not a surefire way to determine whether or not you or someone you love has been fraudulently registered to vote. But there is a way to determine if new credit has been obtained in your name (or the name of a loved one) or if your information is being bought on sold on the internet black market.

Purchasing a product like ID Secure might greatly increase your peace of mind as well as the level of protection guarding your identity. For just $1 for the first month, and $12.99 each month after that, a professional identity monitoring company will use advanced web crawling technology to search the internet and public records to make sure that your social security number, credit and ATM cards and other personal information isn’t being fraudulently used in any way. ID Secure makes sure your identity is being monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week helping to keep it safe. If fraudulent activity is suspected, you will be informed immediately. You can learn more by clicking here.

Voter registration fraud and identity theft are both very real problems affecting thousands of Americans every day. Make sure you are doing your part to protect yourself and those you love. Don’t ignore the recent reports about ACORN. Instead, let them motivate you to put a plan in place to help keep your ID Secure.