[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 123 (Thursday, July 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1529-E1530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         VOTE FRAUD IN AMERICA

                                 ______

                      HON. ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR.

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 27, 1995
  Mr. EHRLICH. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House Oversight Committee 
held its first hearing on vote fraud in America, geared primarily to 
the Federal motor-voter law. Officials and 

[[Page E 1530]]
advocates from around the country spoke of abuses and misconduct during 
the balloting process. In California, witnesses testified noncitizens 
regularly voted, as did a 5-year-old child and a dog. In Alabama, 
witnesses reported three briefcases containing 1,100 completed absentee 
ballots were hand carried to an election board on election day. These 
and similar incidents impugn the integrity of this country's election 
process.
  This issue is particularly important to me in light of allegations of 
electoral abuse and official misconduct in Maryland during the last 
gubernatorial election, which was decided by a record slim margin of 
several thousand votes. Concerned citizens from around the State began 
to investigate widespread reported irregularities the day following the 
election.
  Besides problems with extremely lax voting booth security, these 
investigations determined 34,000 voters were not purged in Baltimore 
City in 1994 prior to the elections as required by law.
  The Baltimore City election supervisor was reminded by a deputy 7 
months prior to the election that the purge had not been conducted. It 
was never done, and that fact appears to have been concealed from city 
and State election officials. The enormous implications of this 
official malfeasance is apparent from the following sample facts about 
the November election:
  A computer analysis done of total vote counts for each of the 408 
precincts in Baltimore City using the Baltimore City Election Board 
electronic tape of registered voters and the certified list of votes 
cast on election day forwarded to the State board of elections revealed 
5,929 more votes were cast in the election than individuals recorded as 
having appeared to have voted at the polls or by absentee ballot.
  Another analysis was done comparing the same electronic tape of 
registered voters in Baltimore City with records of abandoned houses 
provided by the city housing commission. This revealed a total of 667 
votes cast in the election. Furthermore, 1,881 votes were cast from 
houses owned by either the mayor and city council of Baltimore or the 
city housing authority. There is compelling evidence that a total of as 
many as 2,548 votes were cast from abandoned or unoccupied buildings. 
Where did these voters live?
  Deceased voters still exercised their right to vote. Analysis of 
voter authority cards, precinct binder printouts, and requests for 
absentee ballots revealed that a possible total of 42 votes were cast 
by people no longer living.
  Was their a direct correlation between the failure to purge and these 
terrible statistics? I think there was. So did State election board 
officials. After these facts were discovered, the State election board 
made a bipartisan call for the purge to be conducted after the fact to 
correct the previous mistake.
  Let me reiterate, the State board of elections consisting of three 
Democrats and three Republicans wanted the purge done to prevent 
similar problems in the future.
  Instead, the State attorney general's office represented the city 
election board against the State election board and convinced the court 
to retroactively apply the motor voter law in order to prevent any 
purges from being conducted.
  This is not the purpose for which the motor voter law was designed. 
Clearly, we in Congress are concerned that similar problems are not 
repeated in any State or Federal elections. Problems such as those 
encountered in Maryland should be corrected immediately. Vigorous 
investigation must be conducted to determine if there was any fraud or 
official misconduct. If there is evidence of such behavior, it should 
be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. It should not and must 
not be condoned or ignored using the cloak of law applied 
retroactively.
  Mr. Speaker, in an election there is no such thing as a little fraud. 
Such behavior attacks the very foundation of our society because it 
destroys the fundamental trust between voters and their elected 
government. To tolerate such abuse or circumvent the laws designed to 
protect the sanctity of the citizens right to vote by any means 
possible will only make Americans more cynical and disinterested. In 
Maryland, we must not let this situation happen again.


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