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MOGOP statement on outcome of ACORN’s lawsuit against the State

June 25, 2009

Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party, released the following statement about the State’s $450,000 settlement with ACORN:

“On the same day that Gov. Nixon was forced to cut more than $100 million from the budget, the State of Missouri agreed to pay $450,000 to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them on this issue, consistently siding with ACORN against the state. At the same time, she has refused to condemn ACORN for devaluing our elections by perpetrating systematic voter fraud across Missouri. One question must be asked: Does Robin Carnahan believe that ACORN, a group so tainted by voter registration fraud in Missouri and across the country, deserve nearly half a million dollars in taxpayer money?”

Several news outlets reported that Carnahan took the side of ACORN:

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 24, 2008: “The plaintiffs say Carnahan has been helpful on the issue.”

From an ACORN press release, April 23, 2008: “In August 2007, Demos and Project Vote sent a formal notice letter to Deborah Scott, Director of DSS, informing her of the state’s violation of the NVRA. Ms. Scott responded by denying that the state was out of compliance, and declined to develop a plan to remedy the longstanding violations. Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan sent a letter to DSS detailing the evidence from the Project Vote report that the Department was failing to comply with the NVRA, and offered to assist the Department in doing so. However, subsequent interviews outside three DSS offices revealed DSS’ continued failure to offer voter registration opportunities to clients.”