Fair Warning Or Dirty Politics?
BLITZER: Here's a look at this hour's "Hot Shots." In Minnesota, signs of autumn, take a look at this, beautiful pictures. In Australia meanwhile, a kangaroo hangs out at the fourth hole of the international golf tournament. In India, tradition drum troop waits to be hired for a festival. In Spain, a man fishes during a heavy rain storm. "Hot Shots," pictures coming in from around the world. Political signs and billboards are sprouting up everywhere, but there are strong suspicions some of them aren't connected with candidates or issues but just plain dirty politics. Our crime and justice correspondent Joe Johns is working this story for us. What's going on, Joe?</s>JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you might think voter fraud is a massive problem given all the attention it's getting this year despite the fact that a Justice Department study said it was an issue in far less than 1 percent of the votes cast between 2002 and 2005. So are new ads about voter fraud intended to inform voters or intimidate them?</s>JOHNS (voice-over): Voter fraud is a felony. Billboards with this simple and factual message are stirring up controversy in two battleground states. Here's why voting rights activists like Eric Marshal are upset.</s>ERIC MARSHALL, LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW: Yes, voter fraud is a felony. But it's the way they're being displayed and the fact that they're in almost exclusively areas or around areas predominantly African-American or Latino.</s>JOHNS: The billboards have been popping up in cities in Ohio and Wisconsin, 85 in Milwaukee, 30 in Columbus, another 30 in Cleveland and 31 in Cincinnati. Protests started almost as soon as they went up demanding the signs come down.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This billboard is nothing but a symbol of pure unadulterated suppression to target an African-American community.</s>JOHNS: But the two advertising companies that sold the space, Clear Channel and Norton Outdoor, say the buyer was not out to target minorities.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no request for any specific demographic target at all. They wanted the best locations they could get for those four weeks leading up to the election.</s>JOHNS: The big mystery is who's behind them? The billboard itself does not tell. It reads paid for by a private family foundation and neither company will say who that is. After declining an on camera interview, here's what Clear Channel wrote to CNN. "The advertiser put into the contract to remain anonymous. It is our policy to require advertisers including political advertisers to have disclaimers, which to identify them. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in this case. He sees that as a warning.</s>MARSHALL: No one's stepping forward and explaining why, that's part of the problem. If these were (inaudible) then would you say, why would you negotiate in your contract with Clear Channel a confidentiality clause to stay hidden?</s>JOHNS: But bottom line, Mike Norton, who's family owns Norton Outdoors sees nothing wrong with the content of the ads.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The things that stipulate from political advisers and said, A, it's accurate, and B, that they're not attack ads. This fell well within the realm of reason on both of those benchmarks.</s>JOHNS: These billboards are scheduled to be up through Election Day and neither company has any plans to take them down before then. Voting rights groups have raised $30,000 to put up their own billboards in Cleveland and Milwaukee encouraging everyone to vote. So looks like it's going to be battle of the billboards in parts of the Midwest -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Looks like it. Joe Johns, thank you.