Across the nation, state and federal officials are now looking into Sproul's efforts. There is no evidence that Sproul's questionable tactics were encouraged by Republican Party officials or, indeed, that the RNC even knew what the firm was up to. In statements, the Republicans have responded to the Sproul news by claiming to have a "zero-tolerance policy for anything that smacks of impropriety in registering voters."

But Democrats in Arizona say that the RNC was playing with fire in choosing Sproul for its outreach efforts and that the selection at least shows the party's lack of concern for preventing fraud. Nathan Sproul, the 32-year-old founder of Sproul & Associates (who did not respond to several of Salon's phone calls), "always seems to be playing things right on the edge," says Bob Grossfeld, a Democratic political consultant in Phoenix. Sproul's efforts, earlier this year, to collect signatures to repeal Arizona's public campaign financing bill were considered underhanded. Democrats also blanched at Sproul's involvement over the summer with Ralph Nader's efforts to find a place on the Arizona ballot.

Sarah Rosen, spokeswoman for the state's Democratic Party, says news of Sproul's activities in Nevada didn't come as any surprise to anyone in Arizona. "Absolutely no surprise. Nathan Sproul is accused of ripping up Democrats' registration forms? Everybody went, 'Oh, sure, that sounds right.' So why is this man who's been known to be involved in these activities continually receiving contracts from the Republican Party?"

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"Hello, we are doing a simple survey. If the election were held today, would you vote for President Bush or Senator Kerry?" So goes the first question on the script that Sproul's employees were asked to read to prospective registrants. The script, which was provided to Salon by Lisa Bragg, is printed on Sproul & Associates and America Votes letterhead, even though Sproul & Associates is not affiliated with America Votes. (In other states, the company has also gone by the name Voters Outreach of America.)

Bragg gave Salon several documents that she was handed during the recruitment session. Some of these documents counseled employees not to dismiss Democrats; the headline on one of the documents reads, "Don't turn anyone away!" In large, all-caps type, it says, "ALL CITIZENS WILL BE PROVIDED THE SAME OPPORTUNITY TO REGISTER." The documents also remind canvassers to be polite. "If a person becomes angry, it is important to listen to them, but not argue back," the documents say. "If a person is agitated, they might complain to the store manager, risking the loss of this location to register voters at. Please be sensitive toward others of different political affiliations who do not want to support President Bush. The Goal is to Register Republicans, and to remain positive."

But while they were asked to keep a cheery outlook, it's clear the employees were also told not to register Democrats unless people specifically asked for the forms. In what's called the "Kerry Scenario" on the script handed to employees, people who said they supported the Democrat for president were to be told, "Thank you very much for your time, I will record this." But people supporting Bush were to be told, "Great, well this is a very important election. Are you registered to vote at your current residence?" The Sproul employee was to help those who were not registered fill out the form.

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a Sproul employee script that it had received from a former worker in western Pennsylvania featured additional questions for undecided voters: "Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?" and "Are you worried about the Democrats raising taxes?" If the voters were pro-life, they were to be registered. "If they are pro-choice, say thank you and walk away."

To Bragg, such tactics constituted lying to her friends and neighbors. "They were asking me to be deceptive and to go behind people's back," she says. "I thought that was wrong and sneaky." She remembers other prospective workers at the recruitment drive also saying they felt uncomfortable with these guidelines, but for many, the money was too good to pass up. "Most people jumped at the chance to get this kind of work. A lot of the jobs around here are minimum wage, and this was a good opportunity for people who needed some part-time work or flexible hours."

Some workers at the orientation session said that they would try, despite Sproul's rules, to register Democrats anyway, Bragg recalls. "But the Sproul people were saying that they were going to have people checking up on us in the field. I thought, 'I don't want to be looking over my shoulder to see if Big Brother is watching me to make sure I'm not signing up Democrats.'" Bragg decided not to take the job and instead she alerted her former college journalism professor and the local press about her experiences. Her story was first reported, to little national notice, in the Charleston Gazette in late August.

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