Poll: Half of Republican voters say ACORN stole election

Nearly half of Republican voters say that ACORN — the community organizing group that closed in 2010 — aided in stealing the 2012 election for President Obama, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

The survey, conducted by Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling, found that 49 percent of GOP voters believe that the president did not legitimately win reelection because ACORN interfered with the vote. A full 50 percent of Republicans said Democrats engaged in some sort of voter fraud.

ACORN earned wide ridicule in 2009 after a hidden-camera video from conservative activist James O'Keefe showed ACORN employees advising walk-ins on how they could engage in criminal activity. Questions were also raised about the legitimacy of voter registration forms submitted by the group. The ensuing controversy led Congress to prohibit government funding from going to ACORN. Without federal dollars, the organizing coalition was forced to shut its doors in 2010.

A full quarter of Republican voters also say they would like to see their state secede from the union after Obama's reelection, although 56 percent of GOP voters say they disagree with the secessionist petitions that cropped up in the past month.

The national survey also asked respondents their opinion of a number of the figures currently dominating the national headlines. Grover Norquist, the anti-tax advocate who is tussling with Republicans over their pledges to reject any increase in income tax rates, remains largely unknown to most of the population. Nearly half — 48 percent — of those surveyed say they do not know who Norquist is. Thirty-seven percent of voters say they have a negative view of Norquist, and 15 percent see him favorably.

Norquist's numbers are underwater even among Republicans. Just 18 percent of GOP voters see him positively, while 23 percent say they have an unfavorable view.

Former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned last month after an FBI investigation revealed he was having an extramarital affair with his biographer, continues to earn relatively high marks at the polls. Petraeus has a 44-30 percent favorability rating, with Democrats giving the former general a 47-25 percent advantage and Republicans giving him a 38-36 percent favorability rating.

---