Jim Jeffords

[JoMama49]

Please don't forget to THANK Jim Jeffords for his strong statement supporting the GAO investigation, his appreciation for the importance of the work of Rep. Conyers, and for Sen. Boxer and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. Since he is an independent (and I wish we had MANY MORE of them!), I believe he got overlooked in the list of Senators to thank.

His statement appears on the 7th page in the series of pages accessible at the link below, and I encourage you to read it. He takes our concerns seriously,and I appreciate that.

Kerry's statement is avaiable in the Record as well, and other Senators
who did not speak.
>
> Here is the link directly to the pages in the Congressional Record
> for January 6th, 2005.
>
> http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2005_record&page=S35&position=all


The part dealing with Ohio's electoral vote protest begins on page
> S41 and continues through S56. These are in Acrobat pdf format. I
> couldn't figure out how to put the pages together since the navigator
> only allows one page at a time, so I pasted them into a Word doc and
> will put it in the files section of this site.
>

[Beth in VT]

1. He does need support, the Republicans have been hard on him.

He has been championing eleciton reform in the last session of Congress, introducing legislation proposing paper trail and national standard for provisional ballots.

[saltpoint]

2. In other times, people with the grace and intelligence --

-- of Jim Jeffords characterized the Republican Party.

Boy has that changed.

He's kind of in exile from his own party. There was a behind-the-scenes row with Dubya's people. Right afterward Jeffords left the GOP and became an independent.

Does anyone know if he is running for re-election, or if he plans to retire?

[Name removed]

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[Beth in VT]

6. He creamed the Dem who ran against him last time -

he is very popular here.

[saltpoint]

7. You're right. I hope he prevails against the GOP --

-- challenge if there is one.

[Beth in VT]

5. I don't think he has announced his plans but

I have not heard that he is planning to retire. He is extremely popular here.

[saltpoint]

8. That's good. It's kind of encouraging when --

-- a senator is warmly supported because of his independence and integrity.

You folks keep up the good work up there.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Wilms]

3. Jeffords Remarks 1/6/05

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, we are here today in this extraordinary session to discuss a challenge to Ohio’s electors.

It was gratifying to see the high level of interest in the election create such a large voter turnout. However, it was discouraging to hear of the problems that affected the election in many parts of the country, including Ohio.

Representative CONYERS, other House Democrats, and individuals across this country deserve our thanks for the important work they have done to document the issues that arose from the 2004 election.

I would also like to thank Senator BOXER and Representative TUBBS JONES for their diligence in bringing this issue to the forefront.

All voters deserve to get answers, and corrective actions, to the reported irregularities and flaws of the 2004 election.

As my colleagues may know, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation of many of the issues raised in the 2004 election.

I am very supportive of this investigation, and believe that through a complete and full investigation by the GAO, answers to the questions raised regarding the 2004 election will be obtained.

The information the GAO obtains will allow the Congress to take appropriate action to address the problems uncovered.

At a minimum, there are two changes to our election system that should be implemented by the Congress: requiring a paper trail for electronic voting machines and creating a national standard for provisional ballots.

I will work with my colleagues in the Congress to enact these important reforms. We must work to maintain, and indeed improve, the confidence in and integrity of the election process.

I am under no illusion that the actions taken on this challenge will change the outcome of the election. Senator KERRY has conceded the election. The events of today will not change this result, and I fear they will only further polarize our political landscape.

The solutions to the irregularities of the election will not be found or enacted in this 2-hour process today. They will come from a complete investigation, like the on-going GAO one.

Because I believe that contesting the slate of Ohio electors is not the way to achieve the needed reforms of the election system, I will vote against this challenge today.

However, I want to put my colleagues on notice that I will be vigorously pursuing reforms of the election system to enact much needed improvements in the system.

We have to make sure our elections are a solid reflection of the voters’ intent. Given the resources of our great Nation, there is no reason why we should not be able to achieve this goal.