ACORN IN MI

Mlive.com
10/14/2008, 5:52 p.m. ET

Mich. AG charges ex-ACORN worker with forgery

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's attorney general is charging a former employee of a community organizing group with forgery after he says the man falsely submitted six voter registration forms.

Antonio Johnson is being held in Jackson County on a parole violation. The 23-year-old is accused of falsifying the registration forms between May 20 and June 6 in Jackson.

He worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

Jackson Clerk Lynn Fessel suspected a problem and asked police to investigate. Two residents said they didn't sign the forms and that some information used to complete the forms was incorrect.

Attorney General Mike Cox announced Johnson's arrest Tuesday. Johnson couldn't be reached immediately at the jail.

Another story from The Detroit Free Press
October 15, 2008

ACORN leader: Bogus voter applications get through

BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

LANSING -- The head of a group that promotes voter registration acknowledged Tuesday that members of his organization have submitted bogus applications to county election offices.

But David Lagstein, head Michigan organizer for ACORN, the Association for Community Reforms Now, defended the effort.

"It's our policy to hand in every single card," he said. "Sometimes we do get the occasional application with names like Mickey Mouse or some silly thing like that. However, we don't want to be the arbiter. Our job is to hand in the applications."

Lagstein's comments followed charges of falsifying voter registration documents filed Tuesday against an ex-ACORN worker from Jackson.

Antonio Johnson was charged with six counts of forgery of a public document, felonies each carrying a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, Attorney General Mike Cox said.

Cox said the documents submitted by Johnson were obvious forgeries, and that his "office will not stand by while criminals interfere with the voting rights of citizens."

Johnson has been convicted in the past of drunken driving and drug offenses and was in jail on a parole violation charge when the alleged forgeries were found.

Staff writer Joe Rossiter contributed to this report.


Walberg Campaign Intends Legal Action Against ACORN and Moveon.org Front Group

Press Release

Radical Liberal Group Supporting Mark Schauer is Using a Cancer Victim to Falsely Attack Congressman Walberg in a TV ad

Jackson, MI- A radical liberal group supporting Mark Schauer and funded by the voter fraud organization ACORN, radical left-wing Moveon.org, and the pro-illegal immigration National Council of La Raza is running a TV ad featuring a cancer victim attacking Congressman Walberg. However, the accusation made in the ad is untrue, and the Walberg campaign is intending legal action.

In the TV ad, the woman with cancer states:

"Republican Congressman Tim Walberg sponsored legislation that would let insurance companies make the rules. They could even deny coverage for preexisting conditions like cancer."

Facts:

· The bill cited in the TV ad gives consumers the option to purchase health insurance from other states. It has nothing to do with restricting health insurance for cancer victims; it simply lets consumers have more options when shopping for health insurance. [National Center for Policy Analysis, Congressman John Shaddegg, Congressional Research Service]

· The claim in the ad that the bill "would let insurance companies make the rules" is untrue. According to the Congressional Research Service and National Center for Policy Analysis, the insurance policies would be regulated by state and federal laws.

· According to a study by University of Minnesota economists presented at the American Enterprise Institute, if this legislation were to become law, 12 million more Americans would be able to afford health insurance.

"Congressman Walberg supports this health care reform because it will allow 12 million more Americans to afford health insurance. For radical liberal organizations supporting Mark Schauer to use a cancer victim to falsely attack Congressman Walberg is despicable and we are intending legal action," said Justin Roebuck, campaign manager.