Political Quotes

“I do not need an additional 10 minutes. I have said all the things I need to say. It is not just my view that signature affirmation or verification does not work. Professor Melody Rose of Portland State University in Oregon has pointed out the significant numbers, 60,000 to 80,000, perhaps, who signed someone else's ballot or had someone else mark it for them. There were problems in Oregon. The Carter-Ford commission said signature verification and affirmation is not adequate, it is inaccurate. Check page 31 of the report. Why? You sign a mail-in registration which cannot be checked under motor voter; you put a signature on it--it could be a dog, a dead alderman, a neighbor, a fictitious brother--and every time you vote as that person, your signature will match the signature that you put on fraudulently when you registered that person. I knew when we took on fraud, fraud would fight back. I want to make sure everybody understands that the deal we worked out was widely praised. The Senator from New York said we ought to come together because we have a good bill. I agree. I thought we had a good bill. We made a lot of compromises. There is money there to improve the voting system and get statewide registration to make it easier for those with disabilities to vote, to cut down on fraud, to have provisional voting. That is a reasonable, rational system. I believe this body cannot go down the road saying we are making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”