Political Quotes

“I thank the Chair. The Ford-Carter Commission described the results of last fall's election as ``a political ordeal unlike any in living memory.'' It was an ordeal that spread beyond a few counties in Florida to encompass-- and incriminate--the electoral system within our entire Nation. Like the Cal-Tech-MIT report, this report adds to the growing body of evidence that in the year 2000--and in previous years--American voters were disenfranchised--not by the thousands, or even by the tens of thousands, but by the millions. These are people who intended to vote, stood in line, did everything they thought they needed to do--thought they had registered to vote--and for a variety of reasons were not able to cast their ballots, or not have their ballots counted. They were people who were disproportionately poor, who are racial or ethnic minorities, who speak English as a second--not first--language, and who are physically disabled. In Florida alone, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission found that African American voters were 10 times more likely than white voters to have their ballots thrown out. Across the country, the votes of poor and minority voters were three times more likely to go uncounted than the ballots of wealthier Anglo voters. That kind of disparity--based on race, income, ethnicity, language, and physical ability--is unacceptable, at least it ought to be, in any nation that calls itself a democracy.…”