Speech #1030014347

In addition. the bill bars States from purging persons from the registration rolls for failing to vote. At the same time. the bill permits States to engage in uniform. nondiscriminatory procedures to verify that voters continue to reside in the jurisdiction. if those procedures assure that voters who have changed their residence are still given the opportunity to vote if they have not moved outside the jurisdiction. The contention that the bill will encourage voter fraud or voting by noncitizens is simply wrong. The bill requires everyone who applies to register to vote to attest that they are U.S. citizens and are eligible to vote. Those who lie can be prosecuted for perjury. The bill also contains tough new Federal criminal penalties for voter fraud. Those who commit such fraud face up to 5 years in jail. The experience of registration officials in States across the country that use motorvoter registration confirms that the procedure will not lead to voting by noncitizens or other forms of voter fraud. Instead. it will increase registration and voting by millions of American citizens. For the 70 million eligible citizens who did not vote in the 1992 election. burdensome and unfair registration procedures are among the biggest obstacles to wider voter participation.