Debate begins on how to fix nation's voting system

MALIA RULON

Associated Press   07 January 2005

WASHINGTON - While Congress this week officially certified President Bush as the winner of the 2004 election, effectively ending weeks of challenges in Ohio, the debate over how to fix the nation's voting system has just begun.

The way in which elections are conducted has came under intense scrutiny, first in 2000 when the focus was on Florida's hanging chads, and now in Ohio, which was the deciding state in the presidential race and has become ground zero for election irregularities.

A deeply divided electorate, coupled with Thursday's rare objection in Congress of the Electoral College outcome, add fuel to the debate of what changes should be made. In Congress and at the state level, proposals are being made that could change how people donate to political groups, register to vote and cast ballots.

"Let's now separate the debate from 2004. That's over. What we are talking about is how do we improve our election system?" said Herb Asher, an Ohio State University political scientist. "It really should be a bipartisan agenda. We'll see if it really is."

House Administration Chairman Bob Ney plans to hold hearings to examine election issues, including the growth of tax-exempt political groups that aren't regulated by the Federal Election Commission. He also plans to investigate reports of voter disenfranchisement, problems with provisional ballots and long lines at polling stations.

"Let's get some hearings out there, talk to some people and then decide if we need to tweak it (election law) or not," Ney, a St. Clairsville Republican, said Friday, adding that he expects to announce details about the hearings in the next week.

Former presidential candidate John Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, has said he plans to introduce legislation "to reform our election system, ensuring transparency and accountability" so that everyone can vote and "have their vote counted."

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Cleveland Democrat, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., led the challenge of Ohio's electors on the floor of Congress on Thursday. Their effort forced the House and Senate to debate the issue for hours, but ultimately failed. Bush was certified the winner.

Still, they said they would introduce legislation to make election changes. Details weren't immediately available.

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Gene Green of Texas, Brian Baird of Washington and Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts have advanced a plan to abolish the Electoral College, and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., wants to establish Election Day as a national holiday, expand early voting options, and create national standards for voter registration, voting hours and ballot recounts.

"Congress will be under a lot of pressure to at least make some modest reforms," said Thomas Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "How much gets done depends on whether the Republican majority is feeling very confident or shaky in terms of moving other agenda items."

Ney, whose committee has oversight on election issues, said that while he supports holding congressional hearings, he hasn't decided whether new election legislation is needed.

On the state level, discussions are underway in Ohio to expand absentee and early voting options, and require voters to provide identification at polls. The state already is required by federal law to replace all punch card machines by November of this year.

"We did have a lot of successes in Ohio that we need to sustain. We had a million more voters participate in the process," said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who plans to hold an elections summit in March to discuss reforms.

In the Ohio Senate, Republican Jeff Jacobson of Dayton plans to push for a law that would require Ohio voters to produce an identification card to vote while Democrat Teresa Fedor of Toledo wants to create standards for voting machines that would require a paper trail. She also wants to prohibit Ohio's secretary of state from holding a campaign office.

Blackwell and Florida's secretary of state in 2000, Katherine Harris, now a congresswoman, have been criticized for also holding positions in Bush's campaign.

"I don't have sour grapes, I just want to do our job and improve our system," Fedor said.