Objection to Counting of Ohio Electoral Votes

OBJECTION TO COUNTING OF OHIO ELECTORAL VOTES -- (Senate - January 06, 2005)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, although there were voting irregularities in Ohio, I will not vote in support of the objection. I do respect the result of the recent Presidential election, but I do not respect the process. Several thousand voters believe they were discouraged or even prevented from voting, and several thousand who did vote believe that their votes were not correctly reported. The inequitable allocation of voting machines, the lack of instruction for the review of provisional ballots, and the questionable activities surrounding the recount of the electronic ballots call into question the final results in Ohio. However, I am unconvinced that it would have made a difference in the final outcome of this Presidential election.

I had hoped that we would not have the electoral college votes called into question again. After the 2000 Presidential election, we worked together to pass election reform legislation, the Help America Vote Act. That legislation set Federal requirements for provisional ballots and for voter information, registration, and identification. Unfortunately, that legislation has not yet been fully implemented and does not go far enough.

I would like to work with my colleagues craft legislation to ensure that all of our citizens are encouraged to vote and participate in our democratic process. Our citizens must believe their vote will count. At a time when we are risking lives of our service men and women to spread democracy throughout the world, we cannot ignore the threats to the democratic process here at home. I do not relish the vote I am forced to cast today, but I as I do, I look forward to being able to cast future votes on Federal election reform to ensure that we are not in this position again.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov