MoveOn.org joins call for vote probe

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- MoveOn.org, the left wing group organized to oppose U.S. President George W. Bush's re-election, now wants Congress to investigate the 2004 election.

The group urged its members Thursday to lobby members of Congress to conduct an investigation into the election, following up partisan claims circulating widely on the Internet of wide-spread fraud and machine-hacking conducted for Bush's benefit.

"Questions are swirling around whether the election was conducted honestly or not," the group's e-mail to supporters said. "We need to know -- was it or wasn't it?"

The group, founded by former software executives on the West Coast, is backing a request by six of the most liberal members of the U.S. House of Representatives -- John Conyers, D-Mich., Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Bob Wexler, D-Fla., Bobby Scott, D-Va., Mel Watt, D-N.C. and Rush Holt, D-N.J. -- to U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker to launch an investigation into so-called numerous complaints about the Nov. 2 balloting.

MoveOn.org says there were "a lot of reports of people being denied ballots on Election Day," but concedes that, other than anecdotal reports, there is little hard evidence to back up the claim.