EXCERPT

Transcript of event held on October 15, 2002.

Event Description: The Century Foundation, co-sponsor of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform, has researched and produced detailed reports on the 2001 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, and the mayoral elections in New York City and Los Angeles. At the forum, we will discuss the findings from this research. As the recent Florida primaries also demonstrated, the reports show how far we still have to go in reforming the electoral process. A number of flaws in the system were once again revealed in these four jurisdictions. However, the reports also demonstrate what does work to make the system fair and effective, and thus are instructive as to what should be done in other jurisdictions and nationally. This information is particularly critical for the public to know about on the eve of Election Day 2002 when elections will be taking place across the nation. Moreover, if, as now looks likely, Congress fails to reach accord on federal election reform by the date of our event, we will discuss how the reports show the need for such action.