By Ross Balano, Midwest Voices Columnist 2008

Federal authorities are investigating the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, otherwise known as ACORN, in at least ten states including Missouri.

Thousands of fraudulent voter registrations have surfaced after having been submitted by ACORN. In some parts of Ohio, over half of the registrations submitted by ACORN are at least questionable. ACORN even admits that it is unable to insure there is no fraud. In the Kansas City area, one name, Monica Ray, registered 20 times.

It is time to put a stop to ACORN and restore some integrity to the election process.

So now we know what a “community organizer” is. ACORN is a left wing organization that Barack Obama used to work with. They pay people to solicit voter registrations and quotas must be met. This is a formula for fraud. The only thing that matters is how many registrations are submitted, not how authentic they are.

In Indianapolis, it was announced today that they have a total of 677,401 voter registrations. The problem is that Indianapolis only has 644,197 voter population. That means they have a registration of 105%.

In Las Vegas, the Dallas Cowboys names showed up on voter registration cards.

How can we insure that these fraudulent registrations do not result in fraudulent votes? Answer: we cannot!

I know many of you are screaming that we should encourage as many people to vote as possible. That we should do everything possible to make sure as many people as possible actually do vote.

Yes, that sounds good on the surface, but the integrity of the election is at least as important as the turnout. Every fraudulent vote effectively cancels a valid vote. I don’t want ACORN or anyone else disenfranchising my vote.

Groups like ACORN are trying to steal the election. They are threatening to turn the whole process into a joke and action must be taken immediately.

ACORN and other groups like them must be shut down.

Photo ID should be required of all voters. Give them out for free. Come to the homes of those who cannot get out to get one. Make them an ID on the spot. Provide rides for anyone who needs one to get to the polls. But no ID, no vote.

Eliminate early voting. Eliminate mail in voting. Eliminate absentee voting except for the military and special cases. The constitution is specific about when and how the election should be held. Let’s get back to the basics and restore integrity to the election.