Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones spoke before the House Administration Committee during their hearing on the Implementation of the Help America Vote Act following the 2004 election.

"I am thoroughly disappointed that the Secretary of State from my home state of Ohio, Ken Blackwell, chose not to testify today before the House Administration Committee," stated Rep. Tubbs Jones. "Just as he created tremendous confusion among voters in Cuyahoga County and across the state of Ohio during this past election by issuing bizarre directives and playing partisan politics, his failure to testify before this committee today shows that he is not committed to improving our election system.

"I would have thought that he would have seen this hearing as an opportunity to further examine the problems that occurred during this past election and work to develop a plan of action for addressing them. The Secretaries of State from key battleground States such as Iowa, New Mexico and Indiana felt it important enough to attend this hearing today. Ken Blackwell owed it the people of Ohio and of this country to be at this hearing today. They deserve the truth!"

Congresswoman Tubbs Jones recently introduced legislation with Rep. John Conyers in introducing the Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act, or the VOTER Act of 2005 which seeks to combat the tremendous voting irregularities that plagued both the 2000 and 2004 elections.