a letter to Hastert and Frist on vote reform

[yurbud]

I urge to support investigation and legislation on voting reform. This should not only be a concern to Democrats because of the irregularities in Ohio and elsewhere, but it also cuts the other way as we saw with the governor’s race in Washington state.

Every state needs to have a verifiable paper trail for votes, non-partisan voting officials, automatic random partial recounts, and full manual recounts when requested by a candidate.

There should also be standards on ratios of voting machines to voters, so people in one precinct don’t have to wait for hours while there are no lines at a neighboring one.

Although not everyone would agree, I am not opposed to requiring a piece of identification like a driver’s license to prevent people from voting multiple times.

One thing president Bush has said that we should all be able to agree with is our desire to spread democracy in the world. In order to do this, the machinery of our own democracy needs to be above reproach, and open to international poll watchers.

We also need exit polls that are not proprietary information for one party or news organization but that are open to the public as a check and balance on the integrity of our election system—the same way we demanded exit polls be used recently in the Ukraine.

No one in America should doubt that their vote will be counted. I hope that you take the appropriate action to make that a reality.

[n2mark]

1. Be sure to let us know

when you get a reply!

[yurbud]

2. This is a late action on that e-mail Kerry sent around

Kerry mail:

No American citizen should wake up the morning after the election and worry their vote wasn't counted. No citizen should be denied at the polls if they are eligible to vote. And, as the greatest, wealthiest nation on earth, our citizens should never be forced to vote on old, unaccountable and non transparent voting machines from companies controlled by partisan activists.


Tomorrow, members of Congress will meet to certify the results of the 2004 presidential election. I will not be taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors.


Despite widespread reports of irregularities, questionable practices by some election officials and instances of lawful voters being denied the right to vote, our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.


But, that does not mean we should abandon our commitment to addressing those problems that happened in Ohio. We must act today to make sure they never happen again.


I urge you to join me in using this occasion to highlight our demand that Congress commit itself this year to reforming the electoral system. A Presidential election is a national federal election but we have different standards in different states for casting and counting votes. We need a national federal standard to solve the problems that occurred in the 2004 election. I will propose legislation to help achieve this.


Florida 2000 was a wake up call. But the Republicans who control Congress ignored it. Will they now ignore what happened in 2004?


There are nearly 3,000,000 of you receiving this email. We accomplished so much together during the campaign. Now let's use our power to make sure that at least one good thing comes from the voting rights problems of the 2004 election. If we want to force real action on election reform, we've got to demand that congressional leaders hold full hearings. Make sure they hear from you and help hold them accountable.


Speaker Dennis Hastert: 1-202-225-0600
Leader Bill Frist: 1-202-224-3135


And please report that you've made your call right here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php


I want every vote counted because Americans have to know that the votes they stood in line for, fought for, and strived so hard to cast in an election, are counted. We must make sure there are no questions or doubts in future elections. It's critical to our democracy that we investigate and act to prevent voting irregularities and voter intimidation across the country. We can't stand still as Congressional leaders seek to sweep well-founded voter concerns under the rug.


Please join with me in calling Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist and telling them that you want action on election reform now.


A recent report from Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) reveals very troubling questions that have not yet been answered by Ohio election officials. I commend the Democratic National Committee for its announcement this week that the DNC will be investing resources and reaching out to non-partisan academics in a long term study of Ohio voting irregularities. I am only sorry that we haven't seen the same from Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell and GOP officials.


Congress must play a positive, proactive role on this issue. That's why I will soon introduce legislation to reform our election system, ensuring transparency and accountability in our voting system and that all Americans have an opportunity to vote and have their vote counted.


Please remember to let us know that you made your call when you're done. We're hoping to ensure House and Senate leaders' offices hear our demand for action on election reform in meaningful way. Please take a moment to let us know you have made your call here: http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php


Thank you,


John Kerry