Senate, House Reject Challenge To Ohio Electoral Votes

Challenge Mounted By U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer

President George W. Bush has been declared the winner of the electoral vote, with 286 votes. Democrat John Kerry got 251 votes, and his running mate, John Edwards, received one.

The declaration came after the House and the Senate have overwhelmingly rejected a Democratic challenge to awarding Ohio's 20 electoral votes to President George W. Bush.

The Senate vote was 74-1, with only Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., voting to support it. The vote in the House was 267-31.

Boxer and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, lodged a formal protest to the Ohio results, prompting several hours of debate. If a senator hadn't signed on, the protest wouldn't have been heard.

They and others cited a lack of voting machines, unusually long lines and other problems that plagued some Ohio districts, many in minority neighborhoods...

By law, any such challenge that's signed by members of both houses compels each chamber to meet for up to two hours to consider the complaint.

As a result of the move, House and Senate members went into separate meetings for a debate focusing on alleged voting irregularities in Ohio on Election Day.

The challenge, which was expected, disrupted the mostly ceremonial reading of the electoral vote count of each state...

The delay didn't jeopardize Bush's win. The outcome of the race is not in doubt, since Republicans have majorities in both the House and Senate. After the debate, lawmakers reconvened and finished hearing the reading of the electoral votes.

Democratic leaders -- including Sen. John Kerry -- distanced themselves from the challenge. Some said they feared it would make them look like sore losers.

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Senate, House Reject Challenge To Ohio Electoral Votes
Challenge Mounted By U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer

POSTED: 7:41 am EST January 6, 2005
UPDATED: 6:14 pm EST January 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush has been declared the winner of the electoral vote, with 286 votes. Democrat John Kerry got 251 votes, and his running mate, John Edwards, received one.

The declaration came after the House and the Senate have overwhelmingly rejected a Democratic challenge to awarding Ohio's 20 electoral votes to President George W. Bush.

The Senate vote was 74-1, with only Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., voting to support it. The vote in the House was 267-31.

Boxer and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, lodged a formal protest to the Ohio results, prompting several hours of debate. If a senator hadn't signed on, the protest wouldn't have been heard.

They and others cited a lack of voting machines, unusually long lines and other problems that plagued some Ohio districts, many in minority neighborhoods.

Rep. Rik Keller, R-Fla., told Democrats simply to "Get over it."

But Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, insisted the issue was about "protecting voting rights," not who won or lost.

By law, any such challenge that's signed by members of both houses compels each chamber to meet for up to two hours to consider the complaint.

As a result of the move, House and Senate members went into separate meetings for a debate focusing on alleged voting irregularities in Ohio on Election Day.

The challenge, which was expected, disrupted the mostly ceremonial reading of the electoral vote count of each state.

Each state has held its electoral college vote, and Thursday is the day Congress is supposed to certify the results. Bush won the election by 286 to 252 electoral votes, with 270 required for victory.

Congressional leaders, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, had been reading the vote count of each state, alphabetically, until they got to Ohio. It was only the second time since 1877 the count has been disrupted.

The delay didn't jeopardize Bush's win. The outcome of the race is not in doubt, since Republicans have majorities in both the House and Senate. After the debate, lawmakers reconvened and finished hearing the reading of the electoral votes.

Democratic leaders -- including Sen. John Kerry -- distanced themselves from the challenge. Some said they feared it would make them look like sore losers.

Earlier, the White House dismissed the move. Spokesman Scott McClellan said the Democrats are "engaging in consipiracy theories and rehashing issues that were settled long ago."

Bush won an Ohio recount by more than 118,000 votes.