Boxer Forces Debate on Ohio Election

From the Associated Press:

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., signed a challenge mounted by House Democrats to Ohio's 20 electoral votes, which put Bush over the top. By law, a protest signed by members of the House and Senate requires both chambers to meet separately for up to two hours to consider it. Lawmakers are allowed to speak for no more than five minutes each.

"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort.

The action seems certain to leave Bush's victory intact because both Republican-controlled chambers would have to uphold the objection for Ohio's votes to be invalidated. But supporters of the drive hope their move will shine a national spotlight on the Ohio voting problems.

Given Republican control of both the House and the Senate, the nominal result of the debate – confirmation the election of Bush – is a foregone conclusion. But this debate will enable to keep the spotlight, however briefly, upon Ohio's Republican secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell, who is alleged to have intervened in the election over and over again in ways that contravened state and federal law.

Thanks go to all those people who called Sen. Boxer's offices to support her taking this position; by my count at least nine Californians in my own corner of blogtopia (y!sctp!) made calls as a result either of my post or reposts that linked to me. Kudos, of course, to Skippy and Daily Kos diarist ssteuer for bringing attention to the need to give Sen. Boxer that extra nudge.