Bush win certified despite objection

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To call attention to voting problems, California Sen. Barbara Boxer and an Ohio congresswoman forced a delay of the ceremonial count of electoral votes Thursday in a joint session of Congress called to certify President Bush's reelection victory. The protests lodged by Boxer and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, both Democrats, spurred House and Senate debates on voting problems in Ohio, the state that decided November's election. Boxer said her purpose was not to overturn Bush's reelection but, rather, to focus new attention on flawed voting practices. She also said she regretted not raising a similar objection over the Florida results in the 2000 election, which narrowly tipped that year's White House contest to Bush. But Boxer and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), insisted they were questioning the process, not the outcome. And ultimately, Pelosi and most other Democratic lawmakers joined Republicans to vote to confirm the Ohio results. In the end, the Senate rejected their challenge by 74-1 and the House voted it down 267-31. Afterwards, Vice President Dick Cheney presided over a joint session of Congress to conclude the official electoral vote count - 286 for Bush, 251 for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and one vote for Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, D-N.C. [more] and [more] and [more]
  • Pictured above: Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., wiped away tears during discussion of the challenge to Ohio's election results.
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  • Black Caucus members led debate on disputed Ohio votes [more]