Darrell Issa (official photo)

Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA-49) and his fellow Republicans on the US House Oversight Committee issued a new report yesterday accusing ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) of voter-registration fraud, improper use of taxpayers' money for political purposes, and violating election law with an unlawful partnership with a key labor union. The report concludes with a lengthy list of ACORN-affiliated organizations, including several in New Jersey.

The full report, titled "Follow the Money: ACORN, SEIU and their Political Allies," charges that ACORN is in essence seeking a federal bailout that it does not deserve. It further charges that ACORN is in a "criminal conspiracy" with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), with multiple interlocking management systems and frequent direct funds sharing. The lawmakers further charge ACORN with contributing to the nation's financial collapse, through campaigns of intimidation based on the Community Reinvestment Act that in effect forced banks to lend money to millions of un-credit-worthy homebuyers. But the most serious charge concerns what the report's authors allege is a deliberate and far-reaching campaign, called "Muscle for the Money," involving fraudulent voter registration in nearly every State in the Union.

Appendix A of the report is a table of every State government investigation and action taken against ACORN or any of its affiliates. Many of these investigations and actions took place in New York and Pennsylvania, including a complaint in Philadelphia of attempted double registration of voters, and an investigation by the Rensselaer County (NY) District Attorney of apparently forged absentee-ballot applications.

No investigations or enforcement actions have been taken in New Jersey. That might be because ACORN's presence in New Jersey is relatively new. One day before the Election of 2009, The Wall Street Journal suggested that "groups associated with ACORN" in New York and Pennsylvania had "moved into New Jersey" and might decide the governor's race, which was then expected to be close. Those "moving-in" groups included the Working Families Party, the group named in the Rennselaer case.

In fact, Chris Christie won handily and made no challenge, but charges of voter fraud in lesser races have been rife in New Jersey, including Essex County. Appendix D of the report, called "The ACORN Council," mentions several ACORN and SEIU affiliate organizations in New Jersey. They include ACORN chapters in Newark, Paterson, and Jersey City, multiple SEIU and Communications Workers of America offices and committees, and the Working Families Party.

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