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September 15, 2008

David Plouffe, Campaign ManagerObama-Biden Campaign

233 North Michigan Ave., Ste 1720

Chicago, IL 60615

Dear Mr. Plouffe:

We have accepted Senator McCains invitation to co-chair the McCain-Palin Honest and Open Election

Committee, the purpose of which is to ensure that every qualified citizen has a right to vote in a fair and

honest 2008 election and that the public perceives the election as fairly and transparently conducted.

We are writing you in the belief that you share our view that, regardless of who wins, the election

should be conducted with the highest level of integrity.

We stand ready to work with you in a cooperative manner on issues that, if not handled properly, are

likely to become adversarial. Lets show the American people that our two parties can together develop

a transparent and open process in every voting place in the country. Experience has shown that careful,

advance planning that anticipates and addresses problems and creates solutions can substantially reduce

issues on Election Day.

Our proposalwhich we look forward to discussing and refining further with youwould be an

unprecedented undertaking that would put Americans first. Each campaign would list every precinct

where either fears there is a potential for voter intimidation, fraud, or mistrust of the tabulation process

on Election Day. To make this practical with only seven weeks remaining, we suggest this process be

begun first in the commonly-identified Presidential battleground states. Each campaign would be

responsible for recruiting a volunteer for each named precinct. The Republican and Democraticvolunteers would work jointly as an observation team. We would recruit similarly bi-partisan teams

assigned to oversee multiple precincts to respond to and investigate reports of problems. The teams

would agree on avenues of appeals that could be taken to the courts, if needed. We would invite

members of the media to be present either in a central location or embedded with the teams.

The goal is to provide a mechanism where the problems that have occurred in the past with voting can

be addressed in advance to give our democracy a great gift: the right to express our views, our hopes,

and our desires through our right to vote in an honest and open election.

Lets talk. Please call us at 703-650-5669. Enclosed, please find a letter we sent today to the top

election official in each state.

Very respectfully,

John C. Danforth, Co-Chairman Warren B. Rudman, Co-ChairmanHonest and Open Election Committee Honest and Open Election Committee