Democrats to investigate voter problems in 2000 election
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On the day Congress certified the electoral victory for President-elect George W. Bush, House Democrats said they will conduct an investigation into voter problems in the 2000 campaign.
House minority leader Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Missouri, said in a statement that "many Americans have lingering questions about the outcome of the national election, and the Congress has a responsibility -- indeed, an obligation, to address those questions and restore confidence in our democracy."
He said Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, will lead the review into "problems witnessed and reported across the country in the 2000 elections and report back with his findings."
Democrats have said there were instances of faulty voting machines, police intimidation, and registered voters being turned away at their polling places.
Gephardt said Republicans turned down a request for a bipartisan investigation to be concluded by March 1.
"Electoral reform is not a partisan issue, but a bipartisan imperative," Gephardt said.
"In this new Congress, with the newfound promise of bipartisanship, our challenge is to work across party lines to identify all the flaws in our voting system, figure out how to remedy those flaws quickly, and return our democracy to the people who hired us, and who we serve."
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