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The American Spectator: Pennsylvania Elections Boss Is ACORN Ally

The man appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell to oversee the security and fairness of Pennsylvania elections has been discovered to be an ally of ACORN. Rendell, a Democrat, is a leading Obama supporter.

On March 31, 2005, Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortés heaped praise on the controversial left-wing activist group that is now being investigated for voter fraud in a dozen states, including Pennsylvania.

Said Cortés, directly addressing ACORN representatives at a meeting of the Pennsylvania Reform Task Force:

"And thank you kindly on behalf of the Department and on behalf of the Administration for all of the good work that ACORN, as well as Project Vote, has conducted through the years, particularly ACORN. I work very closely with some of your members on a national level, and appreciate your dedication and commitment to enfranchising all of the eligible voters."

Cortés and ACORN are now the subject of a lawsuit filed last week in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court by Pennsylvania Republican State Chairman Robert Gleason. The suit alleges that ACORN has committed voter fraud in the counties of Philadelphia, Allegheny, Dauphin (Harrisburg) and Delaware (suburban Philadelphia.) At the announcement of the filing Gleason said bluntly that "we don't believe that we can trust the results of this election." The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is investigating the fraud allegations against ACORN in Southeastern Pennsylvania, which include charges involving 40,000 new voter registrations, of which 85,000 are in Philadelphia. Other investigations have been launched by local district attorneys in both Central and Western Pennsylvania.

The suit was no sooner announced that Cortés responded by calling it frivolous and saying that concerns about ACORN were "aimed at doing nothing other than undermining voters' confidence just 18 days before the election." He did not reveal his past statements praising the controversial group. Gleason said he was "shocked and amazed" at the response to fraud allegations by both Cortés and Rendell. In the material Gleason has presented to the public are photographs of vacant lots listed as home to voters registered by ACORN.

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