We reported last night that a firm doing business with the National Republican Committee and the Romney campaign was being investigated for voter fraud. The firm has done $2.9 million in business with the Republican National Committee this year alone, and another firm run by the same did $80,000 in work for Romney.

And, as I said last night, harkening back to all the faux outrage from Republicans claiming that ACORN was trying to steal the election: “Republicans accuse us of doing what they are, and we’re not.” AP has more:

What first appeared to be an isolated problem in one Florida county has now spread statewide, with election officials in at least seven counties informing prosecutors or state election officials about questionable voter registration forms filled out on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida.

Lux said there have been forms that listed dead people and were either incomplete or illegible. He met with local prosecutors on Friday, but added that his staff was still going through hundreds of forms dropped off by Strategic employees. Lux, who is a Republican, said he warned local party officials earlier this month when he first learned the company was paying people to register voters. “I told them ‘This is not going to end well,'” Lux said.

The Los Angeles Times says it’s actually at least ten counties. And this could involve other states, not just Florida, as the LA Times notes that the firm was working in Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia, and had work yet to commence (supposedly) in Wisconsin and Ohio.

The controversy in Florida — which began with possibly fraudulent forms that first cropped up in Palm Beach County — has engulfed the Republican National Committee, which admitted Thursday that it urged state parties in seven swing states to hire the firm, Strategic Allied Consulting.The RNC paid the company at least $3.1 million — routed through the state parties of Florida, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia — to register voters and run get-out-the-vote operations. Wisconsin and Ohio had not yet paid the firm for get-out-the-vote operations it was contracted to do.

And the LA Times notes that the Republican party was well aware of charges of impropriety concerning the firm that allegedly committed the fraud. So what did the RNC and the Romney campaign do? They didn’t not hire the firm. They simply asked it to set up “new firm” with a new name to “avoid being publicly linked to the past allegations.”

Heck of a way to avoid even the appearance of impropriety: Make sure you hide the appearance, but keep doing the impropriety.

Was there any voter fraud committed in the seven other swing states? Was anyone in the RNC and the Romney campaign aware of the alleged voter fraud? Were they aware of the past charges against the firm?

And get ready for Fox, Limbaugh and Reince Priebus to start arguing that this (alleged) fraud was necessary to “level the playing field” after ACORN “stole” the last election. Just you wait.