Vernon Ehlers: “I rise today to give advance notice of a bill that will be coming up today, and I certainly appeal for your support for…”

“I rise today to give advance notice of a bill that will be coming up today, and I certainly appeal for your support for that bill. There are very few things in this life that I hate, but one that I hate is dishonesty, particularly dishonesty in voting. I am very eager to make certain that every vote taken in this country is legitimate, is properly cast and properly counted, so that all citizens can be assured their vote will be counted and not be diluted by others who vote illegally. With that in mind, our committee, the Committee on House Administration, has taken up H.R. 4844, a bill proffered by the gentleman from Illinois Mr. (Hyde). This bill will be coming up today. It is very simple. It simply requires by the year 2008, in every Federal election, every voter will have to display a photo ID. That is not a bad requirement. You already have to show it to cash a check, to get on an airplane or to buy cigarettes or alcohol. It is not at all a difficult proposition. By the year 2010, that photo ID will also have to have something on it that shows that the voter is a citizen. With those two improvements, I believe we can go a long way to get rid of fraud in our electoral process. ____________________”