More Claims of Voter Registration Fraud by ACORN
CHETRY: We have breaking news, and sheer panic weighing down the world's financial markets across the globe. The orders to sell are piling on fast and furious. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei plummeting more than 9.5 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost more than 7 percent. European stocks also sharply lower. London down more than 7 percent. Also, Germany down more than 9 percent. The selloff comes after the Dow tanked nearly 679 points yesterday. And again, as we take a look at Dow futures this morning, looking for another day of shedding stocks, down now, John, 247 points.</s>ROBERTS: Right. Those numbers keep moving, still an hour and a half to go until the open. More claims this morning of voter registration fraud by ACORN -- the Association of Community Organization's for Reform Now. The liberal activist group is already facing investigations in Nevada and other states. Now word that anomalies have been found in Indiana. And wait until you hear what they are. CNN Special Investigations Unit is working the story for us. Our Drew Griffin is live in Chicago this morning. What's ACORN being accused of exactly here, Drew?</s>DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not even accused there, it's fraud, John. What they're showing me down in Lake County, Indiana -- this heavily Democratic County in a Republican state has gotten 5,000 voter registration forms all gathered together by ACORN and dumped into the office for verification. They started going through this records and what they found, one after another, fraudulent. Take a look.</s>GRIFFIN (on camera): A lot of them?</s>RUTHANN HOAGLAND (R), LAKE COUNTY ELECTIONS BOARD: 50 percent. We had close to 5,000 total from ACORN and so far we have identified about 2100.</s>GRIFFIN: So, roughly half of them are bad?</s>HOAGLAND: Roughly half. Correct.</s>GRIFFIN: Registered to a dead person, registered as a person who lives at a fast food shop.</s>HOAGLAND: Yes.</s>GRIFFIN: Or just all of them, amazingly, in the same hand?</s>HOAGLAND: Yes, yes. All the signatures look exactly the same. Everything on the card filled out looks just the same.</s>GRIFFIN: Ruthann, fraud?</s>HOAGLAND: We have no idea what the motive behind it is. It's just overwhelming to us.</s>GRIFFIN (voice-over): Here's another ACORN filled out registration form. It's for Jimmy Johns, 10839 Broadway in Crown Point. Jimmy Johns. We decided to track him down. Here he is. (on camera): Is there anybody here that's actually named Jimmy Johns? Nobody registered to vote here named Jimmy Johns?</s>SALLY LASOTA (D), LAKE COUNTRY ELECTION BOARD: Both sides, Democrats and Republicans, for us it's unfortunate. ACORN with its intent perhaps was good to begin with, but unfortunately went awry somewhere. And these people, we don't know, if truly they are registered or actually people who want to vote. They're mixed in with those that, as you see, the dead, they're trying to resurrect for elections and that's sad. It really is.</s>GRIFFIN: John, ACORN has endorsed Barack Obama in the primaries. The Barack Obama campaign gave ACORN $800,000 for its voter registration, but is not working with them in the general. ACORN, in its defense, sent us to their lawyer in Boston, who claimed all of these allegations are just efforts to suppress the poor vote.</s>BRIAN MELLOR, ACORN SENIOR COUNSELOR, PROJECT VOTE: We believe their purpose is to attack ACORN and suppress votes. We think that by attacking ACORN that they are going to discourage people who may have registered with ACORN from voting. We think that this is an attack on ACORN because they want to suppress votes. They want to discourage us from doing the work that they should be doing, the state should be doing this.</s>GRIFFIN: 5,000 ballots, 2100 of them, John, are fraudulent. They put the other 2900 aside. They'll deal with those later to see what entails in there. But right now they're trying to just deal with the real voters who want to vote in this election. And, John, they are concerned that with this volume there could be some voter fraud come November.</s>ROBERTS: Yes. From what I've read in reports say in the state of Nevada as well, investigators found that the Dallas Cowboys starting lineup have registered to vote there. Pretty incredible. Drew Griffin for us in Chicago. Drew, thanks so much for that.</s>CHETRY: And we're continuing to track breaking news this morning of the global financial crisis. Meantime, "Fortune" magazine has named the top 50 most powerful women in business. Here's a doctor who made the cut, but before we tell you who she is, here's your chance to guess. Take a look.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very motivated by my father's experience as a pharmacist.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She pursued a career in medicine and became a scientist destined for the executive suite. She now has product development in one of the world's leading biotech companies. Who is this doc who thinks out of the box? Stay tuned for the answer.