ELECTION REFORM II

The latest voting debacle in Florida raises two urgent questions. What are they putting in their orange juice down there? Will this Profound Embarrassment to Democracy Part II finally force Congress to reform the nation’s malfunctioning election system?

The answer to the first is, “Who knows?” The answer to the second, unfortunately, may be the same.

After Profound Embarrassment Part I, the 2000 presidential election, it seemed a sure bet that Congress would recognize its responsibility in the matter of honest and accurate elections for federal office, and would pass the necessary legislation to ensure them by helping the states upgrade voting equipment and procedures. The scorn and ridicule heaped upon the world’s leading democracy was thoroughly deserved; there was wide agreement that the 2002 elections would be a different story.

A lot can happen in two years. Or, as in the case of election reform, nothing can happen. Legislation has been stalled since late last year as Republicans and Democrats try to ensure that honest and fair elections include the appropriate partisan advantage.

House and Senate versions of similar bills have been before a conference committee for months. They include standards for conduct of federal elections and provide grants to states to upgrade voting equipment and procedures. Though quite similar on those issues, the two bills split on preventing election fraud: Republicans want tough voter identification requirements; Democrats say those requirements are designed to disenfranchise minorities.

Since the 2000 problems and Florida’s 2002 reprise were caused not by fraudulent voters but by inept elections officials, the obvious answer would be for Congress to address that side of the issue immediately and to settle for now on a scaled-down anti-fraud component both parties can accept. There was at one time bipartisan agreement that first-time voters who register by mail should be required to present a photo ID – there is no rational reason (the pursuit of partisan advantage does not count) that that agreement cannot be revived. If, after election officials get their act together and the most obvious source of bogus voters is eliminated, it is determined that fraud persists, further adjustments can be made.

The chief sponsors of the House measure, Ohio Republican Robert Ney and Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, hope that the latest bungling in Florida will get the legislation moving in time for some of the more essential reforms, especially those concerning the conduct of elections officials at the polls, to be in place by Nov. 5. If not, start counting the days until Part III.