One Utah

Senator Robert Bennett used his opportunity to speak yesterday about election integrity to recount silly stories about “voter fraud.” Something the present administration has been trying to trump up to their advantage if it becomes a feasible way to prove an election was stolen from them. Bob was a loyal soldier when he said these words:

Thank you very much madam chairman. I salute you for your diligence and persistence in going after this issue. It is one that goes all the way back to the beginning of the republic when voting was pubic. A voter would approach the clerk and announce, with everybody watching, what his choice was. The primary focus of campaign contributions had to do with the amount of whiskey distributed prior to the time when the voter would stagger up and say whether he was for George Washington or somebody else. Washington lost one election because they decided he was not a generous enough gentleman in terms of the amount of whiskey he provided prior to the election.

We have come a long way since then, but we still have a long way to go. I remember a hearing chaired by Senator Lieberman in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in which we addressed the question of voter integrity. Senator Bond brought forward a voter that probably would not be able to verify the ballot. The voter was Trixie Mixler and she voted quite regularly in Missouri elections. The problem was she was underage. She was a 13-year-old springer spaniel. This highlighted the problem that we have with ensuring that concerned voters are able to cast an intelligent ballot and then verify it. The whole question of making sure that our elections are legitimate, the results are verifiable, and that vote fraud does not go on, is a complicated one and I salute you for your willingness to tackle it.

I am looking forward to what our witnesses have to say, and will do my best in the questioning period to bring out various points I think we need to stress.

Things were awfully cosy there between Mr. Bennett and Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who is trying to pass a terrible piece of legislation called the “Ballot Integrity Act”, (S. 1487). I’m hoping tomorrow nights “Now” program on PBS will shed some light on the subject. Be sure to tune in!

This entry was posted Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 2:03 pm and is filed under 2008 Election, Civil liberties Infringement, Corruption, Democracy, This Blog, Voting Rights. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.