At a joint meeting of both houses of congress to certify electoral ballots for president, California Senator Barbara Boxer joined with Ohio’s 11th District Representative, Stephanie Tubbs Jones and other Representatives, in contesting Ohio’s electoral ballots today.

As a result of the objection, both Senate and Congress were dismissed to their respective houses and started a mandated two hour debate on the subject. After the debate, they will resume the joint session; despite the objection, the election is expected to be certified today.

Democrats in both houses took the opportunity to discuss the widespread impediments to voting in Ohio; Kenneth Blackwell’s obvious conflict of interest as both the Secretary of State and Chair for Bush’s Campaign in Ohio; gross technical malfunctions of voting machines and last minute legislation aimed at reducing the number of acceptable provisional ballots. Republicans took the opportunity to denounce democrats, calling them divisive, un-American “whiners” and “Michael Moore conspiracy theorist wannabes.” No Republicans joined Democrats in denouncing widespread voter disenfranchisement in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, despite repeated invitations to do so.