ACORN Scandal Might Deter Voters

After the raid of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) office in Nevada, many state officials are working hard to assure voters that their vote will count and fraudulent ballots will not be an issue. The Las Vegas Sun quotes Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller saying, “We do a better job at protecting our voter rolls than any other state…I can say unequivocally that on Nov. 5, we’ll be able to say that we ran an honest election here.”

Because Nevada will most likely be one of the most closely contested states in the November election, officials want Nevada citizens to be sure of the legitimacy of the system. The ACORN scandal could deter some voters from polls because of their lack of faith in the system as a whole. Others might fear showing photo identification if they have past tickets or a record of some kind. Unversity of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law Professor Sylvia Lazos says photo identification might also deter new voters like college students that don’t always have the proper identification needed at the polls.

Because the Democrats hold a much larger percentage of registered voters as compared to Republicans in Nevada, the supression of voters would ultimately favor McCain. With early voting beginning in just 2 days, Nevada officials will be doing all they can to reassure voters of the security of the system in order to ensure a fair election in the state.