US lawmakers request UN observers for November 2 presidential election

Yahoo.com ^ | July 3, 2004 | Yahoo! news

[eartotheground]

Fri Jul 2, 2:22 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Several members of the House of Representatives have requested the United Nations to send observers to monitor the November 2 US presidential election to avoid a contentious vote like in 2000, when the outcome was decided by Florida.

Recalling the long, drawn out process in the southern state, nine lawmakers, including four blacks and one Hispanic, sent a letter Thursday to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) asking that the international body "ensure free and fair elections in America," according to a statement issued by Florida representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, who spearheaded the effort.

"As lawmakers, we must assure the people of America that our nation will not experience the nightmare of the 2000 presidential election," she said in the letter.

"This is the first step in making sure that history does not repeat itself," she added after requesting that the UN "deploy election observers across the United States" to monitor the November, 2004 election.

The lawmakers said in the letter that in a report released in June 2001, the US Commission on Civil Rights "found that the electoral process in Florida resulted in the denial of the right to vote for countless persons."

The bipartisan commission, they stressed, determined "that the 'disenfranchisement of Florida's voters fell most harshly on the shoulders of black voters' and in poor counties." Both groups vote predominantly Democratic in US elections.

The commission also concluded, the lawmakers added, that "despite promised nationwide reforms (of the voting system) ... adequate steps have not been taken to ensure that a similar situation will not arise in 2004 that arose in 2000."

Thirty-six days after the November 7, 2000 presidential election, after several state court interventions and vote recounts in numerous Florida counties, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Republican George W. Bush, awarding him all of Florida's 25 electoral votes.

The ruling tipped the balance against Democratic contender and then vice president Al Gore (news - web sites), who with 267 electoral votes lost to Bush's 271, only one more than the minimum 270 needed to clinch the presidential election.

[eartotheground]

Thank God Kofi Annan will come over and help us poor savages in Florida vote. I'm sure this will be really helpful when they count the absentee ballots from the military.

[CDHart]

In all the articles floating around about this, I have not seen the names of those who made the request, other than Eddie Bernice Jopes. Does anyone have that info?

Carolyn

[borisbob69]

When I first saw this yesterday on Rush's site and also on Drudge...I was immediately overcome with anger and couldn't believe the anti-American crowd would stoop to this level. The fact that these people are elected representatives makes it even worse than if it were just the michael moore types.

The names of all the requestors need to be made public so their constituents have a chance to vote them out. How utterly offensive that anyone from the United States (government) would ask the most corrupt and inept organization in the world to participate in any manner in our election process!

[fhlh]

Willl they help with the disinfranchised military vote as well?

[F14 Pilot]

UN PING!

[Just mythoughts]

"Thank God Kofi Annan will come over and help us poor savages in Florida vote. I'm sure this will be really helpful when they count the absentee ballots from the military."


I think this calls for a preemptive strike. There are plenty of Americans that can assist the voting and counting challenged.

[Pio]

Will they come to Boston where union leaders were walking their members into the voting booths and stood over their shoulder as they pulled the levers (a violation of Massachusetts law)? The Herald splashed a photo of this on their website on Election day and nervous calls were made to the polling sites to get this to stop.

We need Kofi to come and see the communist meddling here in Mass. We are living under communist domination here.

[cripplecreek]

I haven't seen this on any of the alphabet news networks yet. I think if people find out about it they won't be very happy. It might even cause some democtats to start looking at the problems with the UN and John Kerry's apparent need for UN approval.

[G.Mason]

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson ...Texas

Jerrold Nadler

Edolphus Towns

Joseph Crowley

Carolyn Maloney ... all of New York

Raul Grijalva ... Arizona

Corrine Brown ... Florida

Elijah Cummings ... Maryland

Danny Davis ... Illinois

Michael Honda ... California

Julia Carson ... Indiana

From the St. Pete Times 07/03/04 ... pg.11A

[Larry Lucido]

"the electoral process in Florida resulted in the denial of the right to vote for countless persons"

On the other hand, the electoral process in Chicago and other cities resulted in the restoration of the right to vote for countless dead people.

[FairOpinion]

I am sure the UN agrees with the Democrats and considers that dead people have a right to vote too, as long as they vote for Democrats.

[borisbob69]

Thanks for the list...time for people to let these folks know how much they disapprove of this action on their part.

Never heard of this guy from my state (AZ), but plan to let his office know what I think!

[ARepublicanForAllReasons]

Ex-zactly! What I am hearing from these (Democrats all, I'd wager) Congresscritters is: "Oh please, UN, with your vast experience and credentials in democratic processes and human rights, come and save us from the 'nightmare' of our Constitutional Republic. We are incompetent to hold free and fair elections on our own. Please send observers from the highly civilized and freedom-prizing countries like Syria, Sudan and the PRC!"

[johniegrad]

Reads like a line-up of the Saturday morning cartoon shows.

[AmericanChef]

This is disturbing. I'm surprised my mis-representative isn't on the list, but I'll fire off my feelings on it all the same.

[Corin Stormhands]

What makes them think UN inspectors could actually find the voting booths?

[Ax]

Now this is a real good plan. Member nations of the UN really should come over to help us here in Palm Beach County. Representatives from, say, Gabon, Libya, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Cuba, led by, let's say, Robert Mugabe, would be able to give us pointers on how to conduct successful elections. Didn't The Revvrrruun Jackson propose this once before?

[ChadGore]

This isn't funny. It's not even cute. What they have done is insulted their country. Who has the list of idiots who did this ?

[Sacajaweau]

The proposal is beyond the absurd!!!!

[evad]

On the other hand, the electoral process in Chicago and other cities resulted in the restoration of the right to vote for countless dead people

...and Baltimore too. We've come a long way and probably surpassed Chicago in RAT voting skull duggery.

Our dead people not only vote...they vote often.