Three Wisconsin Congressmen sent a letter to Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Wednesday calling for an investigation into an advocacy group's alleged involvement in voter fraud.
U.S. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., Tom Petri, R-Wis., and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., sent the letter claiming the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a grassroots community service organization, is purposely registering illegitimate voters.
According to the letter, ACORN employees tried to submit voter registrations this August for people who are dead, imagined or otherwise ineligible.
If people are inappropriately registered as voters and then vote inappropriately, then that affects the vote totals,"" said Niel Wright, spokesperson for Petri.
Mike McCabe, director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said ACORN runs into problems because they pay their workers depending on the amount of voters they register.
""When you are given a quota for a number of voters that you need to register, that's an invitation to abuse,"" McCabe said.
However, according to McCabe, the letter will be seen as a political stunt.
""Given the timing of the letter amidst the presidential campaign and the highly partisan nature of the issue, it's really more about politics than a legitimate call for enforcement of the law,"" McCabe said.
So far, there have been three confirmed cases of voter fraud in Wisconsin, but McCabe said actual voter fraud is quite rare in the state.
""When you actually look into the allegations, most of it is just rhetoric and speculation,"" McCabe said. ""When you get to the bottom of it, voter fraud is more rare than a financially stable investment bank.""
To ACORN's credit, some of the illegal activities have been flagged by ACORN itself, McCabe said, adding most of their registrations appear to be valid.
Neither the Madison nor Milwaukee ACORN offices could be reached for comment regarding the recent allegations.
