[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 19 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ELECTION REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I see here one of the persons responsible 
for the amendment that has brought the Senate to a standstill--Senator 
Wyden. I think it is really too bad that the amendment has brought the 
Senate to a standstill.
  The opponents of the Schumer-Wyden amendment claim they are seeking 
to eliminate fraud and that is why they oppose the amendment. Well, of 
course, everybody in the Senate is against fraud. However, we over here 
believe that also we must do anything we can to stop disenfranchisement 
of voters.
  I think it is so important to recognize that we need to encourage 
people to vote, and vote honestly. Nobody is encouraging people to vote 
by fraud. But by holding up this legislation--and that is what is 
happening--the opponents are preventing, among other things, $3 billion 
going to the States for election reform efforts.
  My State, Nevada, needs this money very badly. We have the most 
modern machines you can buy in southern Nevada, in Las Vegas. They are 
electronic, beautiful, and they are without fail. But in the other 16 
counties, we have a mishmash of other types of machines. In the 1998 
election Senator Ensign had with me, we had a registrar of voters in 
Washoe County, Reno, NV, who wanted to save the county money, so she 
had printed the ballots herself. They were approximately a 16th or a 
32nd of an inch off. A lot of them didn't count. They didn't match the 
machines. It created all kinds of problems. In addition to that, there 
were--because of the inappropriateness of the machines--a number of 
ballots that were not counted because they were not put into the 
machines correctly.
  In other counties, we have old-fashioned, very old punchcard 
machines. This legislation would allow the State of Nevada to have all 
good machines. That is one of the things being held up here--$3 billion 
in funding going to the States for election reform efforts.
  The secretary of state of Nevada, one of the most progressive 
secretaries of state, has been in conference with Senator Dodd on this 
legislation. He is a Republican, by the way. He loves our legislation 
and thinks it should pass. He likes the amendment of the Senator from 
Oregon. We have letters from secretaries of state of Arkansas, 
Kentucky, and North Carolina, to name a few, who have strong 
reservations with the bill's original language dealing with 
identification.
  Currently, there are 19 States and the District of Columbia that have 
signature verification. An additional 22 States use a signature system 
in conjunction with something else.
  No eligible voter should be prevented from casting their vote. 
Remember, this bill still has to go to conference, and one of the 
things that so troubles me with the minority is the President of the 
United States is a member of their party. The leadership in the House 
is all Republican. So when we go to conference with this bill, we are 
in the minority because we are dealing with the President and the 
Republican leadership in the House. So I cannot understand why they 
will not let this legislation move on and go to conference. It is as if 
they are changing the rules in the middle of the game.
  Legislation has come before the Senate, an amendment was offered and 
was adopted. Does that mean anytime legislation comes before this body 
and an amendment is offered to it we just close up and go on to 
something else? If that is the case, then we should do everything in 
committee and forget about action by the full Senate.
  By holding up this important legislation, we are wasting valuable 
time that could be spent on, for example, the energy bill or campaign 
finance reform. I am terribly disappointed we are not moving forward. I 
hope cloture will be invoked tomorrow.
  I say to my friend from Oregon, I have been tremendously impressed 
with the State of Oregon and their method of election. The two Senators 
from Oregon who voted in favor, of course, of the amendment that 
Senator Wyden offered were elected by virtue of ballots cast by mail.
  I followed very closely what went on in Oregon. I have not heard an 
iota from newspapers or any other commentary that there was anything 
wrong with the election. I have never known anyone to say there was any 
fraud in electing Senator Wyden or Senator Smith. They were elected by 
mail.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. REID. I will be happy to yield for a question.
  Mr. WYDEN. Not only is the Senator right, but Senator Smith, in 
particular, deserves great credit because in a very close election, he 
made no assertions that there was any fraud in the election.
  My question is, Is the Senator from Nevada aware of any evidence of 
any studies or analyses indicating that these vote-by-mail elections 
are tainted by fraud? I am not aware of any. Senator Smith deserves a 
lot of credit because he could have raised that issue in our election, 
and he declined to do it.
  Is the Senator aware of any evidence of fraud in these races?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say to my friend, the evidence speaks for 
itself. The Senator from Oregon courageously stepped forward yesterday 
and was the only Republican to vote in favor of Senator Wyden's 
amendment. Why did he do that? Because he knows the process in Oregon 
is good.
  I think we, as Senators, have to do everything we can to stimulate 
voter turnout, to make it easier. I am in favor of voting 2 days. In 
Nevada, I am in favor of--we are a 24-hour town--voting all night long. 
We have to do everything we can to allow more participation.
  I am so impressed with what North Dakota does. In North Dakota, if 
you want to vote, come on in, we will let you vote. They have same-day 
registration. Imagine that. I have talked to my friend from North 
Dakota, and I have never heard--and I do not think he has either--of 
any fraud.
  We live in a world of computers. People are going to cheat. It is 
easy to find out if they cheat.

  We should do everything we can to move forward with allowing people 
to vote. We should not make it harder for them to vote. We should make 
it easier for them to vote.
  I applaud my friend from Oregon for working on this legislation so 
hard and, I think, making the legislation so much better. Recognizing 
there is a problem with it, let us work it out in conference and not 
say we are going to close up shop and not allow us to move forward on 
this legislation.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I, too, compliment the distinguished 
Senator from Oregon for his outstanding work and leadership on this 
issue. He has gone the extra mile to find a way to resolve this matter. 
I know he has worked diligently over the last several weeks. He and I 
have talked about this matter on a number of occasions.
  I think Oregon has been the leader in this country in innovative ways 
to encourage broader voter participation. He so ably represents his 
State. On this particular issue, no one has provided greater leadership 
and more insight on what we can do to improve participation than he 
has.
  I join with my colleague from Nevada in thanking him and commending 
him for his efforts.

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