Voting Bill signed by President Bush

[Timber Loftis]

Bush Signs Bill Overhauling National Elections System
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 — President Bush signed a bill today to clean up the nation's election procedures and to set minimum federal standards intended to prevent a repetition of the problems that cast a cloud over voting in Florida two years ago.

"When problems arise in the administration of elections, we have a responsibility to fix them," said Mr. Bush, whose own election was challenged because of such problems in 2000. "Every registered voter deserves to have confidence that the system is fair and elections are honest, that every vote is recorded and that the rules are consistently applied. The legislation I sign today will add to the nation's confidence."

The bill authorizes $3.9 billion of federal spending in the next three years, to help states replace punch-card and lever voting machines, to train poll workers and to establish computerized statewide lists of registered voters.

Congress has not formally appropriated the money, but sponsors of the legislation said that they believed that Congress would do so.

The new law will not affect the Congressional elections next week. Most provisions take effect in 2003 and 2004.

The law carefully balances Democrats' desire to expand the franchise with Republicans' determination to prevent fraud at the polls.

Under the law, a person not listed on the registration rolls must be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. The ballot would be counted if state or local officials could confirm that the person was eligible to vote under state law.

"When people show up at the polls and their voting registration is in doubt," Mr. Bush said, "they should not be turned away, but allowed to cast a provisional ballot so their vote can be counted if it is later verified that they are properly registered."

Under the law, new voters who register by mail would have to provide proof of identity at some point in the process, when they register or when they vote. Voters could, for example, present a photo identification card, a utility bill, a bank statement, a paycheck or a government document showing name and address.

The law also creates new criminal penalties for anyone who provides false information in registering or voting, or conspires to deprive voters of a fair election.

Republicans and Democrats battled over the legislation for nearly two years and still disagree over what it requires.

Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, the chief Senate sponsor, said: "The legislation does not establish federal registration eligibility requirements. Those are found only in the U.S. Constitution."

But Senator Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri, said: "It is the intent of Congress to impose a new federal mandate for voter registration."

Under the law, Mr. Bond noted, anyone who registers to vote would have to provide the state with a driver's license number or, if the person does not have a license, the last four digits of his or her Social Security number. Election officials must verify the information with state motor vehicle agencies or the Social Security Administration.

Senator Dodd said state officials retain "sole authority" to set and enforce eligibility requirements. "Nothing in this legislation prohibits a state from registering an applicant once the verification process takes place," even if a would-be voter provided inaccurate or incomplete information when registering, Mr. Dodd said.

Another provision of the law says that all state mail-in registration forms must include the question, "Are you a citizen of the United States of America?" with boxes to answer yes or no. Under a 1996 law, only citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections.

But Senator Dodd said: "The check-off box is a tool for registrars to use to verify citizenship. Nothing in the legislation requires a check-off or invalidates the form if the box is left blank."

Civil rights groups said they would be watching closely to make sure the identification requirements are not applied or enforced in a discriminatory way.

The measure, the Help America Vote Act, won final approval earlier this month by votes of 92 to 2 in the Senate and 357 to 48 in the House.

The law includes these provisions:

Before casting ballots, voters must have some way to verify their selections and to correct any errors.

Voting sites must be accessible to people with disabilities. Disabled voters, including those who are blind, must be allowed to cast secret ballots.

Each state must "adopt uniform and nondiscriminatory standards that define what constitutes a vote and what will be counted as a vote" for each type of voting equipment.

The Justice Department can enforce the new standards by suing states and seeking injunctions in federal courts. In addition, each state will have to establish a grievance procedure to address complaints from people alleging violations. The law creates no new right for individuals to sue

Well I can see positives and negatives to this proposal. I do get a bit irritated knowing that illegal immigrants and non-nationals do quite a bit more voting than is legal. But I suppose it all comes down to wether you believe a nation has a right to restrict voting priveledges to legal citizens or not.

Im fully in favor of making a more accurate and less subjective voting method. I also believe that if a person isn't bright enough to figure the ballotout, they really shouldnt be considered bright enough to be voting.

Of course that is my opinion and I would never dream of advocating overturning the bill of rights to suit my opinion.