H.R. 2003 – The Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007

78% For, 22% Against

This is the WashingtonWatch.com federal legislative update for the week of August 20, 2007.

With Congress in the middle of its August recess, hot debate is occurring among the Ethiopian-American community regarding U.S. policy toward their home country.

In the last week, more than 2,000 comments have been posted on WashingtonWatch.com regarding H.R 2003, The Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, and a related bill, H.R. 2228, The Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2007.

People on both sides of these bills feel strongly about their views. So strongly, in fact, that some users defeated the modest security around the WashingtonWatch.com voting system in order to vote multiple times. A small number voted thousands of times, likely using an automated process.

Though the polls on WashingtonWatch.com are unscientific, one-person one-vote is the general rule. WashingtonWatch.com technical staff went to work strengthening the security of voting, and the site issued a statement explaining the problem and what was done to rectify it.

The flaw in voting security was unfortunate, but the urgency of the debate among this community is an invigorating example of democracy in action.