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GOP to steal the election?

The GOP is trying to purge Democratic voters off the rolls to steal the election in states like Ohio, Florida, and Colorado. Can you contribute $25 to protect this election-on the ground, on the air, and in court?

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Dear MoveOn member,

We're hearing a lot about the trumped-up charges against ACORN these days-but very little about the massive voter suppression campaign being orchestrated by the Republicans. The GOP is trying to purge thousands of Democratic voters off the rolls in states like Ohio, Florida, and Colorado.(1)

John McCain and Sarah Palin are falsely accusing a community organizing group-ACORN-of voting fraud to distract the media from their own party's wrongdoing.(2)

Worst of all: It's working. The truth is, McCain is vilifying ACORN to justify voter suppression-making it harder for Obama supporters to vote. The GOP's voter suppression campaign could steal this election. But we can stop them with a rapid-response fund to support legal actions, run newspaper ads to get the media talking about GOP voter suppression, and prosecute anyone who tries to steal this election.

Can you chip in $25 to kick off our No Stolen Elections fund? https://pol.moveon.org/donate/suppression.html?id=14429-2397932- xOkgBlx&t=3

The simple act of raising funds to protect this election will send a warning to right-wing operatives who think they can get away with voter suppression. For over twenty-five years, Republicans have promoted the myth of voting fraud to argue for restrictive voting laws-but Bush's own Justice Department found virtually no organized voting fraud.(3)

Now McCain is attacking ACORN in order to justify a frenzy of lawsuits making it harder for Obama supporters to vote. Here's what he's not telling you:

* The only fraud committed was against ACORN itself. ACORN hired 13,000 workers to register a remarkable 1.3 million new voters. And a few of them turned in registration forms with inaccurate and even made-up names to get credit for work they didn't do. ACORN fired them and turned them over to the authorities.(4)
* ACORN reported the fraudulent registration forms. In most states, ACORN is required by law to submit all forms collected whether they appear to be bogus or not-that way election officials, not partisan groups, can make the call. ACORN flags cards that may not be legitimate. And in many places, the charges of fraud only came up because ACORN was the one who flagged the cards!(5)
* This won't have any impact on the election. No one is allowed to vote unless they are properly registered. And there is no evidence of false registrations actually leading to organized voting fraud.(6)

We can't let false charges of voting fraud distract us from the very real voter suppression campaign that is already well under way. Republicans are looking for typos on voter registration forms, threatening to challenge homeowners facing foreclosure, and falsely warning that voters with outstanding traffic tickets may be arrested if they go to the polls.(7)

Help protect this election from Republican voter suppression. Click here to contribute $25 to our No Stolen Elections fund: https://pol.moveon.org/donate/suppression.html?id=14429-2397932- xOkgBlx&t=4 Thanks for all you do.

-Noah, Laura, Ilyse, Daniel and the rest of the team

P.S. You can learn more about the false charges against ACORN by going here: http://acorn.org/quickfacts

P.P.S. Republicans aren't just smearing ACORN-they're smearing Barack Obama, too, by sending around untrue emails about him. Have your friends or family ever forwarded you an email with false attacks on Obama? If so, be sure they know the truth. Forward the email to The Center for Political Accuracy, and they'll reply with the true facts for you to respond with: info@politicalaccuracy.org

Sources:
1. "States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal," New York Times, October 8, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html "Check-off box delays thousands of voter registrations," Denver Post, October 14, 2008 http://www.denverpost.com/previous2/home/ci_10713377

2. "ACORN defends efforts amid voter-fraud allegations," Associated Press, October 14, 2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_el_pr/voter_fraud

3. "In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud," New York Times, April 12, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12fraud.html "The Truth About Fraud," Brennan Center for Justice http://www.truthaboutfraud.org/

4. "The Truth About ACORN's Voter Registration Drives," ACORN http://acorn.org/quickfacts "Group Answers Charges of Voter Registration Fraud," New York Times, October 14, 2008 http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/acorn/

5. "Voter Group Admits Mistakes, Defends Work," ABC News, October 14, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31241&id=14429-2397932-xOkgBlx&t=5 "Is there ACORN fraud in Florida?," Orlando Sentinel, October 15, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31239&id=14429-2397932-xOkgBlx&t=6

6. "'Fraud' vs. 'Suppression'," Politico, October 14, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31240&id=14429-2397932-xOkgBlx&t=7

7. "After A Surge in Registration, A Surge in Suppression," Brennan Center for Justice, October 7, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31236&id=14429-2397932-xOkgBlx&t=8 "Democrats fear GOP will turn away foreclosed voters; GOP won't rule out using residency change to challenge a ballot," Indianapolis Star, October 3, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31237&id=14429-2397932-xOkgBlx&t=9 "Vote-scam fliers target black neighborhoods," Philadelphia Daily News, October 2, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31041&id=14429-2397932-xOkgBlx&t=10

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