Kerry: Election Reforms Should Be Pushed

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON - All Americans must demand their right to vote and refuse to be intimidated, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters' group Sunday.

"Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said. "There is no magic wand. No one person is going to stand up and suddenly say it's going to change tomorrow. You have to do that."

Kerry supporters charged that voting irregularities in largely Democratic areas made it difficult for voters to cast ballots in the November presidential election. A lawsuit in Ohio cited long lines and a shortage of voting machines in predominantly minority neighborhoods, but the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the suit.

Kerry, using crutches as he recovers from knee surgery, said the United States should spend less time promoting democracy abroad in countries like Iraq and more time guaranteeing democracy at home.

"We need to go about the business of making our own democracy in America work better," he said, addressing an event sponsored by the Massachusetts League of Women Voters.