From April 25, 2012 through October 9, 2012 the Voter Registration Office received 196,764 voter registration applications. This volume included registrations that were fraudulent, missing information, or not for Philadelphia residents… Some applications were turned in months after they had been filled out, so many individuals submitted duplicate applications… In July, representatives from our staff and the Commissioners’ Offices requested a meeting with local representatives from Obama for America to discuss the concerns about the delays… less than an hour before the registration deadline, tens of thousands of applications were submitted by various organizations, including Obama for America, the Community Voter Project, and Grassroots Voter Outreach. Some of these applications dated back to early September. And this, on votes reported stolen by voter impersonation fraud: On Election Day, the City Commissioners Office was notified of five separate instances in which an individual claimed that there was already a signature next to their name in the poll books when they arrived to vote at their polling place. A further review of this issue is necessary to determine the cause and to verify the validity of these claims. As with other crimes that have a low probability of prosecution, many more cases may go unreported. But even in these documented cases, who will – or can – be prosecuted? Not the fraudsters, who misrepresented their identities. So these incidents will likely remain footnotes in a report, signaling fraudsters that they can continue to cheat unimpeded. Meanwhile, deniers will continue to claim that this type of fraud is “non-existent” because there are no convictions and oppose the voter ID laws that could prevent it.
Philadelphia is no stranger to stories of election “irregularities” and voter fraud, and a Report to the City Commissioners on the November 2012 General Election confirms a number of procedural problems and illegal activities, including proof that ACORN-style voter registration practices continue in Philadelphia, courtesy of Obama for America and others: