[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 2005

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, had I been present for the following 
vote on Thursday, January 6, 2005, I would have voted as follows: 
Rollcall Vote 7: I would have voted ``Nay'' on agreeing to the 
objection to the certification of the Ohio electoral votes. While I do 
not protest the outcome of the Ohio electoral votes, irregularities in 
the 2000 and 2004 elections, especially in Florida and Ohio, make it 
clear that we need to do a lot more to give voters confidence that 
every vote is accurately counted. The 2004 State of Washington 
gubernatorial race shows how narrow the outcome of a race can be even 
with millions of votes cast. The 109th Congress must act to ensure that 
no future elections are mired in controversy and that the United States 
provides a clear and strong example of democracy.

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