Voter registration fraud charged in Pa.

PITTSBURGH, May 7 (UPI) -- Seven people affiliated with the activist group ACORN were charged Thursday in western Pennsylvania with voter registration fraud, officials said.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said the defendants face charges in connection with 51 allegedly fraudulent voter registrations, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Thursday.

Zappala said he was also investigating whether ACORN had a daily quota for voter registrations, which would be illegal in Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the group's full name, has been the target of investigations in several states. The former field director and former regional director for voter registration were charged in Nevada this week with voter registration violations for allegedly filing thousands of "garbage" registrations to meet an illegal daily quota -- charges the ACORN officials have denied.

ACORN became an issue during the presidential campaign, with Republicans alleging it had illegally registered thousands of likely Democratic voters.