There really are two types of acorns.

As the English proverb states, “Great oaks from little acorns grow.” Indeed they do.

Such little acorns are harmless. The other ACORN is not.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now appears to be a bad seed. As Americans learn more about this type of ACORN and its activities, concerns multiply every day.

What is concerning so many Americans about this other ACORN? Here are some specifics:

Last week, the FBI announced that an investigation has begun into “whether the community activist group helped foster voter registration fraud around the nation.”

“At least eight states are investigating” as well; with some reports noting that the same type of ACORN activities may have occurred in dozens more. This includes battleground states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania; as well as several deemed “toss-ups” in recent polls, such as Nevada, North Carolina and Indiana. Officials in those states are now looking into accusations that ACORN workers turned in thousands of fraudulent or duplicate voter-registration applications.

In Nevada, where the Dallas Cowboys magically filled out voter registration forms, or forms were signed with the names of cartoon icons such as Mickey Mouse, the national electronic media highlighted the humorous aspect of the situation. One wonders why the media choose to cite that aspect, rather than focus on the hard evidence and testimony of real individuals. It was Jason Anderson who blew the whistle to Nevada officials about the Cowboys; and Darmela Jones, another ACORN worker, who told investigators “she submitted approximately 40 Voter Registration Applications while employed at ACORN and only 10 were real applications.” Was it a conscious selection by media of examples that were more likely to prompt a lighter reaction on the part of viewers and listeners in order to tamp the seriousness of the ACORN activities?

In any case, here is the bottom line. One single instance of fraud in the registration phase, or any phase, of the election process is one too many and unacceptable.

Two, or more, instances of fraud is a problem of potentially significant proportions affecting the integrity of America’s ballot box. That’s why, “a senior official says (the FBI is looking) for any evidence of a coordinated national scam.”

For their part, ACORN “denies such a conspiracy, though it has acknowledged that some employees, who have been fired, handed in falsified forms.”

The reality is that when a politically active group has employees, or volunteers, who submit falsified registration forms, every American should understand the implications of such acts, and demand that all involved individuals, supervisors and organization officials be immediately questioned under oath about supervisor directions to field reps, training content and more.

Unfortunately, some people have already begun the media spin to suggest that registration fraud is not the same as fraudulent voting. Fraud is fraud, and fraud is a crime.

America’s ballot box is the cornerstone of our founding. The integrity and security of our ballot box must be ensured without exception. Every American has the duty and responsibility to actively be on guard to protect the ballot box from the manipulators of voting fraud. We cannot retain our liberties if we close our eyes or look away from the activities of any person, group, or organization that works to undermine ballot box integrity.

There is much more to the ACORN story. It’s an iceberg. What you have read here is just the tip. There are other icebergs adrift in the campaign sea as well. Any one of the icebergs can sink a campaign. This iceberg can splinter our ballot box and sink our nation.

Richard Olivastro is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and president of Olivastro Communications. He can be reached at: Rich@Olivastro.NET or 877.RichSpeaks.