Maxwell Frost: “Last year's elections brought to light, Mr. Speaker, troubling deficiencies in our electoral system, leaving many…”

“Last year's elections brought to light, Mr. Speaker, troubling deficiencies in our electoral system, leaving many Americans disillusioned about our democracy itself. We are all, of course, painfully aware of the tragedy in Florida, which culminated on this very day 1 year ago. But the problem was clearly larger than that, so the Democratic Caucus' Special Committee on Election Reform, under the able leadership of the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), spent much of the past year conducting field hearings in communities around the Nation. The committee confirmed what so many others have found; that America's electoral system is broken, and that Americans from coast to coast have been disenfranchised in every election. In my own Congressional District in Fort Worth, Texas last year, I personally witnessed and fought against a systematic partisan campaign to harass, intimidate, and suppress African American voters, especially senior citizens. For all these reasons, real election reform is a priority for the American people, and it is a passion for Democrats. But protecting every American's right to vote should not be a partisan issue. It is the cornerstone to rebuilding faith in our democracy, and it is the civil rights issue of the new millennium.”