Gingersnap
09-30-2009, 10:28 AM
Former ACORN worker details blackjack voter registration bonuses
A former field director testifies about extra payments to Las Vegas canvassers for bringing in 21 new registration cards in a day. A judge is considering whether his supervisor and the group will face
September 30, 2009
Reporting from Las Vegas - In the summer of 2008, with presidential contenders battling fiercely over the swing state of Nevada, Christopher Edwards was racing to register voters.
As the field director of ACORN's Las Vegas office, he brainstormed a way to motivate meagerly paid canvassers: If they turned in 21 or more registration cards in a day, they were each given a $5 bonus.
"Hey, it's Las Vegas," Edwards testified Tuesday. "It's blackjack."
But Edwards' "blackjack bonuses," which he bragged about to other ACORN offices, broke the law, state prosecutors say. Nevada bars quotas or cash incentives in voter sign-up efforts: Officials fear they could lead to false registrations.
On Tuesday, a judge began considering whether Edwards' former supervisor, Amy Busefink, and the Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now will stand trial on 13 low-level felony charges of compensation for registration of voters. The evidentiary hearing will resume this morning.
Edwards, a former union organizer who once worked for former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts. He took the stand Tuesday as the prosecution's star witness.
"No one in ACORN knew this was illegal," he told Justice of the Peace William D. Jansen.
Not only are they all criminals, they're stupid criminals. :rolleyes:
LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-acorn30-2009sep30,0,940624.story)
A former field director testifies about extra payments to Las Vegas canvassers for bringing in 21 new registration cards in a day. A judge is considering whether his supervisor and the group will face
September 30, 2009
Reporting from Las Vegas - In the summer of 2008, with presidential contenders battling fiercely over the swing state of Nevada, Christopher Edwards was racing to register voters.
As the field director of ACORN's Las Vegas office, he brainstormed a way to motivate meagerly paid canvassers: If they turned in 21 or more registration cards in a day, they were each given a $5 bonus.
"Hey, it's Las Vegas," Edwards testified Tuesday. "It's blackjack."
But Edwards' "blackjack bonuses," which he bragged about to other ACORN offices, broke the law, state prosecutors say. Nevada bars quotas or cash incentives in voter sign-up efforts: Officials fear they could lead to false registrations.
On Tuesday, a judge began considering whether Edwards' former supervisor, Amy Busefink, and the Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now will stand trial on 13 low-level felony charges of compensation for registration of voters. The evidentiary hearing will resume this morning.
Edwards, a former union organizer who once worked for former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts. He took the stand Tuesday as the prosecution's star witness.
"No one in ACORN knew this was illegal," he told Justice of the Peace William D. Jansen.
Not only are they all criminals, they're stupid criminals. :rolleyes:
LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-acorn30-2009sep30,0,940624.story)