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Maxine Waters, sitting before panelists grappling for answers in the wake of last year's muddled election, gave a harsh assessment of the American electoral process.

"I think the American public would like to see this fixed," she said Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. "Right now, it's broken."

Congresswoman Waters, D-Los Angeles, was invited by the National Commission on Federal Election Reform to address issues ranging from minorities' roles in the electoral process to turning Election Day into a national holiday to spur voter turnout.