Posted on 07/06/2004 11:50:09 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
WASHINGTON – The United Nations has turned down a controversial request by nine members of the U.S. Congress to assign international observers to the U.S. presidential election in November.
The request came in the form of a letter drafted by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and signed by eight other members of the House.
"We are deeply concerned that the right of U.S. citizens to vote in free and fair elections is again in jeopardy," the lawmakers wrote to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Besides Johnson, the other representatives signing the letter to Annan – all Democrats – were Julia Carson of Indiana; Jerrold Nadler, Edolphus Towns, Joseph Crowley and Carolyn B. Maloney, all of New York; Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Corrine Brown of Florida, Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, Danny K. Davis of Illinois and Michael M. Honda of California.
Johnson was an early supporter of Sen. John Edwards' campaign for the presidency. Yesterday Edwards was selected as John Kerry's Democratic Party running mate.
"Generally, the United Nations does not intervene in electoral affairs unless the request comes from a national government or an electoral authority – not the legislative branch," said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe.
Nevertheless, the proposal by Johnson and the other members of the House has raised the hackles of Republicans and others who saw irony in the timing of the announcement – just before America's Independence Day celebrations.
"Let me get this straight," wrote Joe Mariani in GOPUSA.com. "A group of Democrats want to bring some people from countries like North Korea, Iran, Syria, China and Cuba – people that have never seen a democratic election in their lifetimes – to sit in judgment on our elections? What kind of voodoo politics is that? The last time a foreign body had any direct influence over the political process of this country, the situation was corrected by a war for our freedom from British rule. Are these so-called Americans so willing to surrender that hard-won right of self-determination now, and to such a shamelessly scandal-ridden group of anti-American dictatorships and terrorist sympathizers? We may as well dissolve the Union now and save ourselves the pain of watching it done for us."
The Democrats said they feared a repeat of the 2000 election, which was won by George W. Bush, a Republican, through the Electoral College count even though he lost the popular vote.
The Democrats had asked in the letter for "international election monitors" to watch for "questionable practices and voter disenfranchisement on Election Day."
The Democratic Congress members wrote that they did not think sufficient reforms had been implemented to prevent another voting debacle.
"As the next Election Day approaches, there is more cause for alarm rather than less," the letter said.
Because the U.N. Charter bars violations of sovereignty, the State Department, or perhaps the Federal Election Commission, would have to invite observers, said U.N. officials. Monitoring would also have to be approved by the Security Council or the General Assembly.
Since the rule of thumb for vote monitoring is one observer for each 100 polling sites, about 2,000 foreigners would have to be deployed from Key West to Anchorage.
Johnson's letter points to "widespread allegations of voter disenfranchisement" in Florida and other states in 2000, and it cites an April report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that found potential for "significant problems" this time around.
"As lawmakers, we must assure the people of America that our nation will not experience the nightmare of the 2000 presidential election," Johnson wrote. "This is the first step in making sure that history does not repeat itself," she added.
The Nov. 7, 2000, election was decided 36 days later when the U.S. Supreme Court made two rulings that stopped Democratic challenger Al Gore's attempt to recount some of the Florida votes. A number of independent investigations confirmed President Bush won the state's 25 electoral votes, giving him a total of 271 to Gore's 267.
Tom Kilgannon, president of Freedom Alliance, a group dedicated to protecting American sovereignty, admonished Johnson and her colleagues.
"Your appeal to the secretary general is alarming and embarrassing," he said. "As a Member of Congress sworn to uphold the Constitution and represent the people of the United States, it is disturbing, to say the least, that you would entrust the most sacred act of American democracy – our presidential election – to an international institution, which is unaccountable to the American people and mired by scandal and corruption."
Kilgannon said the request "undermines U.S. sovereignty, demoralizes American servicemen who are fighting to build democratic governments abroad and sends the message worldwide that the United States is nothing more than a Third World nation unable to police itself."
Stories about the action by the members of Congress appeared all over the world – from Tehran to Uraguay and to China.
I'm ashamed Eddie Bernice Johnson is from Texas.
It was none of the UN business to monitor our elections in the first place. What's revealing is the Democrats' lack of faith in the American voter.
I can't believe Nadler signed on too. He is a way-out-there liberal, but I thought he was a bigger man than that.
Typical democrats .. trying to usurp the authority of the President.
These people who pretend to defend the Constitution don't even know they didn't have the authority to make such a request from the UN ..?? How pitiful is that!
You can believe the CA congressman is going to hear from me. I may not be in his district, but I'm a Californian and he's an embarrassment to our state.
Wouldn't it be treason to try to get non-Americans to interfere with our elections?
Time to send another "love note" to that freaking lunatic - Mike Honda...
Semper Fi
Volunteer to be a poll watcher. We're gonna need ya!
What a classic response by Mariani!
"Let me get this straight," wrote Joe Mariani in GOPUSA.com. "A group of Democrats want to bring some people from countries like North Korea, Iran, Syria, China and Cuba – people that have never seen a democratic election in their lifetimes – to sit in judgment on our elections? What kind of voodoo politics is that? The last time a foreign body had any direct influence over the political process of this country, the situation was corrected by a war for our freedom from British rule. Are these so-called Americans so willing to surrender that hard-won right of self-determination now, and to such a shamelessly scandal-ridden group of anti-American dictatorships and terrorist sympathizers? We may as well dissolve the Union now and save ourselves the pain of watching it done for us."
These are not congressmen. They're raving lunatics.
disinfranchisment.
what a crock. is it anyones fault that these total mental midgets can't figure out the most simplest instructions.
hanging chad? its morons like the dems who drasticaly need tax accountants to help them cheat er i mean fill out thier tax forms. heck here in st louis the rats are so inept that they cant even tell time! they kept the polls open 2 hours longer than legal until they got busted. i guess they did that to give the dead voter block a little longer to leave the crypt.
heres a hint, if you are too stupid to figure out what it takes to cast a ballot. STAY THE F**K HOME YOU LOSER SCUM!
I'm ashamed that one of these nuts is my representative.
Ironic that it is Dems making this loathsome request. Not ironic at all that they would hand over power to the UN.
Ok bring on the UN monitors and we will put them in EVERY big city around this country.
Dems are infamous for voter fraud in larger urban areas.
Man, they got that right. After the last election, every voter roll in this country should have been dumped and reregistation conducted with each and every voter showing proof of citizenship and residency, with 100% verification. That act alone would have broken the back of the RAT Party.
"These are not congressmen. They're raving lunatics."
Actually they are congressmen that want to be Politburo members.
All he need to do in the debates is ask Kerry if he supports this act of intervention by the UN or not.
If he does then he wishes to give our soverignty to the UN and the President can nail him on it!
If he does not back it then he cannot support all those legal challenges that are waiting to be filed when he loses, and the President can nail him on it!
A WIN/WIN situation!
The UN has no business being in America let alone participate in one of our elections. I think its past time for us to quit the UN and stop catering to them.
I would guess we are going to see more of these inferior representatives in our future. Some people get the idea that one here and one there don't hurt us but, as you can see, collectively they do hurt us because they can exert some power.
They all belong to one or more of the following: Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Progressive Caucus.
Asian Pacific American Caucus is a new one to me but the majority are members, so I suppose I'll have to add it to my list of usual suspects.
Observers. Yeah, whatever.
��5{�������� of work these people are! They get a sick joy out of trying to humiliate this country. They are allowed poll watchers from the Democrat party....but that would take volunteering.....which doesn't fit into their something-for-nothing agenda.
Letter writing campaign to Dennis Hastert to instruct Congress to censure these miscreants should begin now.
People should organize in every state where these anti-American originate and make sure the are removed from office or cannot get relected.
It shows the democRATS would give up our sovereignty to the U.N. in a heartbeat.
Me too. I'm ashamed she in in the House of Representatives.
Do you have any idea what area of Texas she represents?
July 1, 2004
The Honorable Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Secretary-General:
We, the undersigned Members of Congress, hereby request the Electoral Assistance Division of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs to send election observers to monitor the presidential election in the United States scheduled for November 2, 2004. We are deeply concerned that the right of U.S. citizens to vote in free and fair elections is again in jeopardy.
As you may know, the 2000 presidential election was steeped in controversy. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a bipartisan federal agency, investigated widespread allegations of voter disenfranchisement and questionable practices in the state of Florida relating to the purging of names from voter registration lists, methods of balloting, and the independence of counting and certification procedures. In a report released in June 2001, the Commission found that the electoral process in Florida resulted in the denial of the right to vote for countless persons and further that the “disenfranchisement of Florida’s voters fell most harshly on the shoulders of black voters” and in poor counties.
Moreover, Florida was not the only state in which voters were wrongfully denied their right to vote and have their vote counted. Experts have concluded that over half of the votes that went uncounted nationwide during the last election were cast by "nonwhite voters." In Florida, the Commission found that black voters were "10 times more likely than non-black voters to have their ballots rejected" - a result that experts say is typical of states across the country. The election was finally determined by the U.S. Supreme Court which prevented further counting of the votes in what has been widely criticized as one of the most politicized and improper decisions in U.S. jurisprudence.
As the next Election Day approaches, there is more cause for alarm rather than less. In April of this year, the Commission issued a status report which found that despite promised nationwide reforms relating to voting equipment, voter list maintenance, poll worker training, election certification, and reinstatement of ex-felon voting rights, adequate steps have not been taken to ensure that a similar situation will not arise in the coming election. Rather, upon evaluating the current state of affairs, the Commission concluded “the potential is real and present for significant problems on voting day that once again will compromise the right to vote.”
The right to vote, and have votes counted, in free and fair elections is a cornerstone of representative government. In addition to violating amendments 15, 19 and 26 of the U.S. Constitution, and laws adopted pursuant to it such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the events in Florida violated the right to vote as it is enshrined in several international instruments that the U.S. has either agreed to, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 21), or ratified, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (article 25) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (article5). As a member of the international community, we firmly believe in the importance of international human rights law and its applicability and relevance to the U.S. Given the deeply troubling events of the 2000 election and the growing concerns about the lack of necessary reforms and potential for abuse in the 2004 election, we believe that the engagement of international election monitors has the potential to expedite the necessary reform as well as reduce the likelihood of questionable practices and voter disenfranchisement on Election Day.
In addition, we believe that international oversight is critical in this election not only because of the role the U.S. has in the world, but also because the issues related to the methodology of elections inside the United States, such as the use of electronic and paperless voting technology, are likely to have international impact. The danger that these methodologies could become a standard to be exported and emulated involves broader issues of democracy that should be of concern to the United Nations and the international community as a whole.
For all these reasons, we urge the UN to favorably consider this urgent request.
Signed by:
Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson
Representative Corrine Brown
Representative Julia Carson
Representative William Lacy Clay
Representative Joseph Crowley
Representative Elijah Cummings
Representative Danny Davis
Representative Raul Grijalva
Representative Michael Honda
Representative Barbara Lee
Representative Carolyn Maloney
Representative Jerrold Nadler
Representative Edolphus Towns
From the Congresswomans website.
http://www.house.gov/ebjohnson/
You are SO right! Could not have said it any better!
this story is a month plus old and i am still trying to get my lower jaw shut.
the only benifit is the pounds i have shed not being able to chew and swallow.
A little out of date. As of Monday, the State Department has agreed to observations by the OCSE ( http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/08/international.observers/index.html ).
When I first read of this I was a bit offended also. No doubt the Senators that proposed the UN inspections had contemptible motives behind them but after digesting it for a while and getting over the insult it occurred to me that there are some good reasons to allow it. First, how does one expect another country that we accuse of false elections to agree to be monitored while we refuse to allow it here? Second, what better way to show our detractors our virtues than with an open book?
Ooops... Representatives not Senators:)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.