Congressional group wants U.N. to monitor presidential election

By Todd J. Gillman
The Dallas Morning News

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WASHINGTON — Still smarting from the 2000 Florida recount, a group of congressional Democrats led by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas has asked the United Nations to monitor this year's presidential election.

"We are deeply concerned that the right of U.S. citizens to vote in free and fair elections is again in jeopardy," the legislators wrote to Secretary General Kofi Annan.

While the request might evoke images of blue-helmeted peacekeepers outside the local library, the request won't be granted.

"Generally, the United Nations does not intervene in electoral affairs unless the request comes from a national government or an electoral authority — not the legislative branch," said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

Because the U.N. Charter bars violations of sovereignty, the State Department, or perhaps the Federal Election Commission, would have to invite observers. And monitoring would have to be approved by the Security Council or the General Assembly.

None of the five permanent Security Council members has ever been subjected to such monitoring, officials said. The rule of thumb is one observer for each 100 polling sites, which would be an army of 2,000 foreigners deployed from Key West to Anchorage.

Johnson aides call the request justified. Her letter points to "widespread allegations of voter disenfranchisement" in Florida and other states in 2000, and it cites an April report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that found potential for "significant problems" this time around.

Annan was in Africa, and it was unclear whether he had seen the letter. Johnson was among a half-dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus to sign it.

There is ample evidence that problems laid bare in 2000 persist.

Only $650 million of $3 billion Congress authorized for election reform since 2000 has reached states. Yesterday, The Miami Herald reported that more than 2,100 eligible voters still appear on the state's list of purged felons.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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