By Janelle Carter
Published October 16th 2002 in Associated Press
The Senate voted Wednesday to establish nationwide election standards and provide states billions of dollars to upgrade their voting systems as Congress' solution for the monumental problems that plagued the 2000 presidential balloting in Florida.
The measure, which would spend just over $3.8 billion over three years, passed on a 92-2 vote. It now goes to the White House, where President Bush (news - web sites) has promised to sign it.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record) of Kentucky, the measure's Republican sponsor, called the bill a "historic consensus" that "will help make all elections more accurate, more accessible and more honest."
"Election Day 2000 was not a proud day for our democracy, but that day was also a gift," said Sen. Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record), D-Conn. "Had there never been a contested election, the problems likely would never have been addressed."
Dodd, who as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee led negotiations on the bill, said the legislation "goes a long way toward righting those wrongs."
New York's two Democratic senators ó Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton (news - web sites) ó were the only lawmakers voting against the bill.
The House passed the measure last week in a 357-48 vote.
Congress still must approve spending the money the new legislation would require. All sides have said they are committed to getting that done.
The measure allows states with punch-card and lever voting systems to get money to buy upgraded machines if they wish and requires provisional voting, which allows people who claim eligibility to vote even when their names do not appear on election rolls. Those ballots would be set aside, and election officials later would determine whether the ballots were valid.
The bill also establishes statewide registration lists that would use the last four digits of a voter's driver's license or Social Security (news - web sites) number as an identifier for the database. Voters with neither number would be assigned an identifying number by the state.
States also would have to ensure that at least one voting machine at a polling place is accessible to the disabled.
Civil rights groups and many Democrats have opposed identification requirements included in the bill. Those provisions would require voters who registered by mail to show identification the first time they vote. Photo IDs, utility bills or other documents would be allowed.
Activists have complained that the identification provisions discriminate against the poor and minorities who may lack all the acceptable documentation.
The bill is H.R. 3295.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.