FBI investigates ACORN voter sign-ups

The FBI is investigating whether the community activist group ACORN helped foster voter registration fraud across the nation before the presidential election.

A senior law enforcement official confirmed the investigation to the Associated Press. A second senior law enforcement official said the FBI is looking at results of inquiries in several states, including a raid on ACORN’s office in Las Vegas, for any evidence of a coordinated national effort.

Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because Justice Department regulations forbid discussing ongoing investigations, particularly so close to an election.

Two spokesmen for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, on Thursday said the FBI has not contacted the group.

“ACORN has not been notified that we are the target of an investigation by any authorities - nor should we be,” spokesman Kevin Whelan said in a statement. “ACORN members have done a good and patriotic thing by helping bring more than a million of their fellow citizens into our democratic process.”

Republican accusations about the group were raised during Wednesday’s presidential debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain.

ACORN says it has registered 1.3 million young people, minorities and poor and working-class voters. More than 13,000 ACORN workers in 21 states recruited low-income voters, who tend to be Democrats.

But some ACORN employees have been accused of submitting false voter registration forms - including some signed “Mickey Mouse” or other fictitious characters.

Those voter registration cards have become the focus of fraud investigations in Nevada, Connecticut, Missouri and at least a half-dozen other states. Election officials in Ohio and North Carolina also recently questioned the group’s voter forms.

ACORN has said the “vast majority” of its workers are conscientious, but some might have turned in duplicate applications or provided fake information to pad their pay. Workers caught submitting false information have been fired.

ACORN said laws in a number of states require it to submit all registration cards it collects even dubious ones, so its workers segregate applications with missing, suspicious or false information and flag them so state election officials can quickly check them further.

Brian Kettenring, an ACORN spokesman, said its employees flagged questionable registration forms for election officials in 11 states, none of which is investigating the group. He also said he did not believe a “Mickey Mouse” voter registration card in Orlando, Fla., was submitted by an ACORN worker.

House Republicans have been pushing for the Justice Department to investigate ACORN, calling on Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey to make sure ballots by ineligible or fraudulent voters are not counted on Nov. 4.

The issue has become campaign fodder for Mr. McCain, who on Wednesday night demanded to know the full extent of Mr. Obama’s ties with ACORN. Mr. McCain said the group could be on the verge of “destroying the fabric of democracy.”

Mr. Obama denied any significant ties to ACORN.