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Wednesday, January 5, 2005

Sen. Is Asked To Object to Ohio Vote by Santa Fe Resident

By Laura Banish
Journal Staff Writer
    Santa Fe resident Leland Lehrman believes it's his civic responsibility to stand up for the nation's election process.
    So much so that the 35-year-old has organized a mass e-mail campaign reaching out to some 1,300 people to demand that Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., support Michigan Rep. John Conyers' call for an investigation into the presidential election results in Ohio.
    Conyers has asked the U.S. Senate to join a number of members from the House in objecting to the election results when Congress meets in joint session Thursday.
    Congress is scheduled to certify the electoral votes that make President Bush the winner over Democrat John Kerry. But if an objection is signed by at least one senator and one member of the House of Representatives, the certification will be delayed for discussion and Congress would have to act on the challenge.
    With his 3-year-old daughter in tow, Lehrman and a handful of supporters trudged through downtown Santa Fe's slushy streets to Bingaman's office Tuesday afternoon in hopes of swaying the senator to unite with the Michigan Democrat.
    "I've heard a few representatives will step up, but not any senators. We're hoping Sen. Bingaman will be that senator," Cassandra Tate said.
    Tate was among seven or so people who went to Bingaman's office to hand-deliver letters or request a response from Bingaman on the matter.
    "We're not all hippies and left-wing radicals, either," she said. "I'm an artist and a business owner."
    The march convened after a press conference at the Roundhouse, where representatives of the Green and Libertarian parties again called for a recount of New Mexico's votes.
    Bingaman was not in town Tuesday, but issued a written statement.
    "Sen. Kerry conceded the election on Nov. 3 and does not support Rep. Conyers' effort. I will follow his lead," Bingaman said. "But I do believe it is imperative to thoroughly review election practices in all 50 states to determine how to improve election laws and ensure that all eligible voters are able to cast ballots and that every vote is counted."
    Bush beat Kerry by about 119,000 votes in Ohio. The victory gave him the state's 20 electoral votes and the presidency.
    Lehrman said that if a recount were conducted, he thinks the results would be different. It's his opinion, along with several others on the march, that intentional errors were made in the Ohio election to make Bush the winner.
    "We have a serious problem," he said. "To me, the candidate who won is not so important ... but the system is important to me. Faced with what we have now, the constitutional powers we have must be utilized in defense of legitimate government and the interest of the people."