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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a possible White House candidate in 2008, joined 2004 nominee John Kerry and other Democrats Thursday in urging that Election Day be made a federal holiday to encourage voting. She also pushed for legislation that would allow all ex-felons to vote. Standing with Massachusetts Sen. Kerry and other Democrats who had alleged voting irregularities in the 2004 contest, Clinton said, "Once again we had a federal election that demonstrates we have a long way to go." "I think it's also necessary to make sure our elections meet the highest national standards," said the New York senator. She and Kerry, both considered contenders for the 2008 nomination, were joined by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who forced a highly unusual House and Senate debate Jan. 6 on the presidential election results. Kerry, who lost the national contest by 3.3 million votes nationwide, and 118,000 within Ohio, denied the bill was an attempt to discredit the 2004 results. [more]

Repair the Vote Take Action Now: Last November, a paperless e-voting machine lost more than 4,000 votes in North Carolina, leaving a tight statewide race up in the air for months.1 Another mistakenly added nearly 4,000 votes to Bush's total in Ohio.2 The solution for these electronic glitches is straightforward: e-voting machines should be equipped to print an ATM-like receipt for every voter. Voters can see their choices are recorded accurately on paper, and if there's any question about the outcome, a recount can rely on these voter-verified paper ballots. Only then can we know an election was run fairly. Last week, Senators Clinton (D-NY), Boxer (D-CA), Kerry (D-MA), and Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a far-reaching bill to require paper receipts, provide remedies for long lines, stop partisan election officials, and institute a national holiday for voting. Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Harry Reid (D-NV) have introduced bipartisan legislation focused on voter-verified paper ballots. In the House, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced a bill to require paper ballots and audit electronic machines to make sure they're counting properly. All these bills would ensure handicap accessible voting and all would vastly improve our election system. [more]
Congresswoman who challenged Ohio votes explains ‘Count Every Vote Act’ [more]