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Jun. 04, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ACORN lawyers say case is political

Pair accused of illegal voter registration efforts

By DAVID KIHARA
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Amy Busefink and Christopher Edwards, co-defendants who worked for ACORN, appear in a Las Vegas court hearing Wednesday. They are accused of illegally compensating canvassers for meeting voter registration quotas.
Photo by Gary Thompson.

Lawyers for the grass-roots community organizing group ACORN and its staff blasted the state's prosecution of the group, calling it politically motivated and baseless.

The group, said attorney Lisa Rasmussen, will fight the charges.


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    • "The politically motivated charges, such as those brought by the attorney general and secretary of state, just highlight the voter registration system that is broken," Rasmussen said.

    Two co-defendants in the case appeared briefly Wednesday in a Las Vegas court. Christopher Edwards, 33, and Amy Busefink, 26, did not comment on the charges against them.

    Edwards is ACORN's former Las Vegas field director. Busefink, of Florida, was the group's regional director for voter registration.

    ACORN is accused of illegally requiring canvassers to meet voter registration quotas. That resulted in thousands of "garbage" registrations, the state attorney general said. Authorities said canvassers, under pressure to keep their jobs, turned in registrations with phony names and addresses. In one much-publicized account, a canvasser turned in the starting lineup for the Dallas Cowboys.

    The attorney general's office has charged ACORN and Edwards with 13 counts of compensation for registering voters. Busefink is charged with 13 counts of compensation for registration of voters.

    An attorney representing Busefink, Anthony DiRaimondo, called the charges totally unfounded and without merit.

    "Nevada's election officials are wasting time and taxpayer money threatening people like Ms. Busefink who are working to bring disenfranchised Nevadans into the electorate," he said.

    Bertha Lewis, ACORN's CEO and chief organizer, repeated the claims that the prosecutions against it were politically motivated. Lewis, based in New York, said that the charges stem from Republicans who have influenced Nevada authorities.

    The charges were brought by Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, and announced by Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, also a Democrat.

    "Just because somebody says they are a registered Democrat doesn't make them fair and balanced and open," Lewis said.

    Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said politics played no part in prosecuting ACORN.

    "The attorney general's office is tasked with upholding the laws in the state," he said.

    Authorities have rarely -- if ever -- used the law. Hafen said he has never seen it used in the 17 years he has been a prosecutor.

    The attorney general said ACORN's canvassers were required to gather at least 20 voter registrations a day to keep their jobs.

    They also had a bonus program, known as "blackjack," which rewarded employees with $5 extra per shift if they brought in 21 or more completed registrations.

    Lewis said the blackjack bonus was against ACORN's policy. The group stopped the practice after learning about it.

    ACORN also alerted state officials to the irregularities they found in its registration drive, said Clare Crawford, deputy political director for the group.

    Lewis said that she is confident the group will be proved innocent and that the "trumped up, outrageous charges in the end will be thrown out."

    Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.

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    Chuck60 wrote on June 05, 2009 10:45 PM: It may be about politics. Yet, it appears what ACORN allegedly did was founded on some decent evidence.


    yada, yada..


    ACORN Nut wrote on June 05, 2009 11:16 AM: Be an environmentalist - bury an ACORN nut.


    tucanofulano wrote on June 04, 2009 08:00 PM: Activists such as those with ACORN ought to be rounded up and deported right along with illegal aliens.


    Edwin R Rutledge wrote on June 04, 2009 06:09 PM: ACORN should be disbanded through budget elimination.


    nananana wrote on June 04, 2009 02:21 PM: This organization is so corrupt and to think that my money supports them makes me very angry. Why can't we have honest people in office who will punish the wrong doers. The New Orleans group should all be locked up for their dishonesty. Instead we say it is o.k.


    smith wrote on June 04, 2009 01:08 PM: ACORN IS A POLITICAL ORGANIZATION, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY CLAIM. They aim to register voters in demographic categories that are likely to vote Democrat. If they have committed violations, it does not matter if political parties are pointing out their violations. We should not be giving our tax money to acorn.


    Ken wrote on June 04, 2009 12:44 PM: Is Bertha Lewis that senile old hag who they have on tape at an ACORN convention going on about how ACORN needs Barack Obama? Yeah, they are non-political.


    K G B wrote on June 04, 2009 11:12 AM: Las Vegas Resident wrote on June 04, 2009 06:59 AM:
    Providing false information to the Census is a violation of law and you can be fined for it.
    But then the record shows that certain Republicans don't have a particular problem with that, do they?

    LOL. Republicans? You squeaky clean Democrats are always good for a laugh. Don't fret though. The repubs have that air bag Rush to keep you dems laughing also.


    Tom, Burbank wrote on June 04, 2009 10:38 AM: This article ran yesterday.


    slade wrote on June 04, 2009 10:17 AM: acorn remindes me of the nazi party in the 1933 they want to win by hook or crook. first they register people with flase names and now they want a hand in the census ?!?!?!


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