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WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today applauded the formal
objection by U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and Senator
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to the certification of Ohio’s electoral votes.
The objection was made to give members of Congress the opportunity to debate
voting irregularities and voter disenfranchisement in Ohio during the 2004
presidential election. After two hours of debate in each chamber,
the election was certified.
Schakowsky
delivered the following statement on the House floor during debate on the
motion:
Mr.
Speaker, Nothing is more critical to the foundation of our democracy than
the guaranteed right to vote. In the 2004 Presidential election, there
were voters in every state, including the pivotal state of Ohio, who were
denied that right, and each time it happened, the foundation is weakened.
That is why I join my colleagues today in objecting to the counting of
Ohio’s electoral votes.
I
commend my colleagues from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois for their leadership
and tireless effort on behalf of all Americans and for their courage in
leading this protest. I am proud to join them.
Almost
40 years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, voting irregularities in
Ohio were evident for the whole country, the whole world to see.
Were minorities unfairly targeted and harassed in Ohio? Yes!
Did election officials permit the destruction of ballots and the tampering
of electronic voting machines in Ohio? Tragically, the evidence points
in that direction. Did Ohio state officials provide insufficient
equipment to poor and minority precincts? Yes! Did many voters
have to wait up to ten hours to cast their ballot? Sadly, yes.
Is Ohio’s top election official also that state’s director of the Bush/Cheney
election campaign? Of course he was.
There
is little disagreement that irregularities did occur. The question
is what are we going to do about it? It is simply not sufficient
to tell the losers in the election to get over it or to accuse them of
sour grapes. It is our patriotic duty to stand up for every voter,
no matter race or party affiliation and demand that Congress act to expand
voter protection and guarantee voter rights. Once all the facts are
determined, a national demand for electoral reform must force Congress
to finally finish the job begun under the Help America Vote Act, including
voter verified paper trail.
We
cannot simply sit back and accept the results as if nothing, possibly illegal,
has taken place in precincts throughout Ohio. Those Ohio election
officials who denied voters provisional ballots, a portion of the voting
reform bill that I championed, must be held accountable, along with those
who allowed machines to be tampered with, eligible voters to be purged
illegally and voters to be intimidated.
President
Bush and most of my colleagues in Congress protested the illegitimate election
results in Ukraine. In that same spirit of promoting and strengthening
democracy and ensuring the right to vote, I formally protest Ohio’s electoral
votes. What happened in Ohio should never happen again and I urge
all members to join with us to make election reform a top priority.
This is our chance to demonstrate to all our citizens and the world that
Americans are constantly working to perfect our own democracy. |
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