William M. Tweed Quotes
The ballots don’t make the results—the counters make the results.
William Marcy Tweed, 1823-1878, U. S. Congressman (Democrat, NY), Tammany Hall Political Leader, Observation on Elections, Quoted in Scorsese, The Gangs of New York
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Although this is generally attributed to Stalin, there is no writing of his that has the quotation. So some believe that this quotation is apocryphal.
Henry Wheeler Shaw. Billings is not the originator of this adage, but seems to be recalling it. See William Porcher Miles {607439}
Explaining why he went to bed early on election night:
There are very few places in America where a public official could get away with statements like this one.
William Magear Tweed, often erroneously referred to as "William Marcy Tweed" (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the "boss" of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th-century New York City and State. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railroad, a director of the Tenth National Bank, a director of the New-York Printing Company, the proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel, a significant stockholder in iron mines and gas companies, a board member of the Harlem Gas Light Company, a board member of the Third Avenue Railway Company, a board member of the Brooklyn Bridge Company, and the president of the Guardian Savings Bank.
