House passes $3.8 billion election overhaul compromise

Friday, October 11th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Congress moved one step closer to finishing work on an election overhaul bill, with the House overwhelmingly passing the measure that sends billions of dollars to states to upgrade voting systems.

The measure, which passed 357-48, now goes to the Senate, where passage is also expected. President Bush has already signaled his intention to sign the bill into law. It would cost $3.8 billion over three years, and Congress must still pass a measure funding it.

But lawmakers clearly saw Thursday's passage as the biggest hurdle for the bill.

``Some of us are emotional,'' said Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Fla. ``This to us is an emancipation of some of the problems.''

Indeed, it was balloting problems in Florida in 2000 that sent the nation into turmoil and left the winner of the presidential election in doubt for 36 days as local officials tried to decipher votes from outdated voting machines.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said the measure will ``restore confidence and renew the trust of the American people in the election process.''

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the chief Democratic negotiator in the House, declared the legislation ``nothing less than a declaration of independence from hanging chads, butterfly ballots and the broken election system that nearly provoked a constitutional crisis.''

And Rep. Robert Ney of Ohio, the Republican who led the negotiations, said the bill puts to rest ``all of the controversy.''

Still, the measure had its detractors, particularly among Hispanic lawmakers who fear new identification requirements for first time voters.

``They've made voter registration and the act of voting more difficult,'' complained Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas. ``It will disenfranchise individuals, individuals in my community.''

The measure allows states with punch-card and lever voting systems to get money to buy upgraded machines if they want, and requires provisional voting, which allows people who do not appear on election rolls but say they are eligible to vote to cast a ballot. 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 number as an identifier for the database. Voters with neither number would be assigned an identifying number by the state.

States would also have to ensure that at least one voting machine at a polling place is accessible to the disabled.

The identification language, also opposed by civil rights groups, 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.

LaShawn Warren, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the measure, ``turns back the clock on four decades of voting rights advances.''

``Instead of making sure that the voting process is inclusive, this bill provides tools to exclude people from the voting process,'' Warren said.