National Voter Outreach

Based out Ludington, Michigan, National Voter Outreach (NVO) has been operating for almost a decade and has circulated initiative petitions in a majority of states that allow the initiative process. NVO's modus operendi is to move into a state and hire subcontractors to run the signature-gathering process, while providing little oversight of subcontractors' hiring, training and management practices.

Rick Arnold, founder of NVO, has even stated that those employed by his company are "mercenaries." He does not care about what his clients ask him to circulate-only about getting them on the ballot. With rampant cases of fraud and forgery throughout the years leading to investigations, lawsuits and disqualifications, this firm has been a leader in cultivating deceptive signature gathering practices.

Florida

• 1998. NVO was hired by former Miami Mayor, Xavier Suarez, to circulate a petition seeking a charter change that would give the mayor greater powers and possibly force a new mayoral election well before the then current Mayor Joe Carollo's term ended in 2001. Accounts of signature forgery and of voters being misled by circulators were so widespread that Rick Arnold, founder and chief executive officer of NVO, told Suarez that the validity rate of the signatures was around 40 percent. As a result of the fraud, Suarez lost his bid. ("Suarez is rebuffed in bid for special Miami mayor vote," The Miami Herald, November 26, 1998)

Michigan

• 2006. NVO was hired by the Stop Over Spending campaign (a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) initiative) in Michigan to circulate their petitions. NVO petitioners committed such ramped fraud that NVO owner, Susan Johnson, was forced to notify the police about her circulators. In the end so many signatures were thrown out because they were fraudulent or duplicates that the proponents didn't have enough to qualify. ("Company Blows Whistle on Fraudulent Petition Signatures," Contra Costa Times, May 30, 2006)

Nebraska

• 1999. The Nebraska State Patrol was brought in to investigate fraud involving NVO's work in gathering petitions to put term limits on the ballot. ("State Patrol Investigates Possible Election Fraud," Omaha World-Herald, September 8, 1999)

Nevada

• 1998. NVO was hired to gather signatures to remove Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates from office by forcing a recall election. And although Rick Arnold, chief executive officer of NVO, was confident at the number of valid signatures, a random check found many signatures of unregistered voters and of individuals who did not live in the district. ("Gates Recall Fails to Meet Test," Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 14, 1999)

New York

• 2002. NVO was hired to collect signatures for gubernatorial candidate B. Thomas Golisano in order to challenge Gov. George Pataki in a Conservative Party primary, and also to create his own independent ballot line. Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue and Andrea Topel of Rochester filed a lawsuit against the 15 petitioners, claiming the NVO petitioners didn't live in New York and fraudulently claimed on legal paperwork that they resided in Rochester. ("Court date set in lawsuit against Golisano," DemocratandChronicle.com, August 7, 2002)

Oklahoma

• 2006. NVO was hired by Oklahomans in Action to put a TABOR initiative on the ballot. In July of 2006, Oklahoma's Supreme Court threw out the TABOR initiative because it was discovered that more than 60 circulators were not Oklahoma residents and had used false Oklahoma addresses, which is against the law in Oklahoma. ("Petition Drive Compared to Watergate," The Oklahoman, July, 10 2006.)
• 2007. Oklahoma's multi-county grand jury indicted NVO president Susan Johnson, Richard Carpenter of Oklahomans in Action, and Paul Jacob (who was working with Oklahomans in Action on the campaign) for their involvement in the 2005 petition drive to put TABOR on the ballot. They were charged with conspiracy to defraud voters by hiring out-of-state signature gatherers (Oklahoma law mandates that petitioners must be residents of the state). The three secured fake drivers licenses to at least 15 of the petitioners to claim false residency.
  
  Though the indictment shortly there-after was dismissed due to a legal technicality, the Oklahoma Attorney General issued a re-indictment. Pending an appeal, the maximum punishment on the conspiracy count is 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. ("Grand jury indicts three over signature gathering," The Oklahoman, October 3, 2007.)

Washington

• 1995. Critics of Initiatives 173 and 177 suggested that the NVO signature gathers were misrepresenting the initiatives in order to get signatures. As NVO hires via classified ads and does not require circulators to have interest in the issue, it is not surprising that their circulators would misrepresent the initiatives. And according to NVO CEO Rick Arnold, this is okay, "We're not out there to convince people on the issues, we are only looking for willing signers." Arnold makes no pretense of educating his signature gatherers about the issues. ("Democracy for Sale?" December 4, 1995)

• 1999. NVO CEO Rick Arnold states that he knows his circulators are mercenaries and he does not care about what his clients ask him to circulate-he only cares about getting them on the ballot. ("Paid Signature Gatherers Play Larger Role in '00 Ballot Box Race," State House News Service, December 6, 1999)

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