It was encouraging to witness one of those rare moments of conviction and dedication to the democratic process that sometimes, once in awhile, actually takes place on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

I applaud Sen. Barbara Boxer, and those who stood by her, for objecting – rightfully, and in the face of disingenuous ridicule – to the certification of Ohio’s electoral votes.

This was a crucial battleground state in the presidential election, and unfortunately one in which the evidence points to an election process shamefully shot through with voting irregularities and disenfranchisement. At the very least, the Senate should be conducting a thorough investigation and examination of our national voting system, which is becoming more of a shambles with each new election.

I find it bitterly ironic that we have actual American soldiers dying in Iraq for a foreign people’s right to vote – or so we are told – when we can’t even present a fair and sound domestic model of our own to the world. It’s enough to make one apathetic.

Yet the Sen. Boxers of the country help to constitute what could be a powerful antidote.

Aaron Guiggey

Mars Hill