Election Bill Hits Snag

A bill to avoid a repeat of the disputed 2000 White House contest by upgrading the nation's election system threatened to unravel Wednesday when Democratic and Republican senators split over a provision to stop voter fraud.

On a largely party line vote of 51-46, the Senate declined to kill a proposed amendment that would strip from the measure a provision requiring first-time voters who register by mail to produce a photo or other specified identification, like a utility bill or pay stub.

Republicans vowed to block passage of the election-reform bill unless it contains this mandate. They said it would help combat voter fraud, which has included people registering their pets, the dead or more than one time.

Democrats argued the provision would discriminate against those without a drivers' license or other the forms of identification -- who include millions of minorities, the elderly and college students, historically among the party's strongest supporters.

Democrats favor instead a verifiable signature, now used in about half of the 50 states for voter registration.

"I hope we can find some compromise on this amendment," Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, the chief Democratic sponsor of the election-reform bill, said after the vote.

But Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the lead Republican sponsor of the measure, replied, "I'm not terribly optimistic, I must say, about the future of this bill."

Democratic and Republican staff members promptly convened a meeting in search of common ground, but a senior Republican leadership aide said they did not expect any quick resolution.

The $3.5 billion Senate measure would provide federal funds to upgrade voting equipment and registrations and impose national election standards, such as permitting voters to verify ballots and correct errors before their votes are counted.

There are 50 Democrats in the Senate, along with 49 Republicans and one independent. But 60 votes could be needed to stop debate and go to final passage.

Republicans Wednesday promised such procedural delays to block a vote on passage of the measure if the anti-fraud provision was removed.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, said he would seek a vote to end debate Friday, and if it failed likely move to other legislation.

Daschle said, "I can't imagine that the Republicans would want to destroy all the work that has been done in getting to this point. Republicans and Democrats recognize the importance of election reform."

The overall election-reform bill is similar the one passed by the House of Representatives on Dec. 12, 2001 -- the first anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that effectively decided the 2000 White House election in favor of Republican George W. Bush by denying Democrat Al Gore a hand count of thousands of contested Florida ballots.

The Senate version of the legislation was initially expected to win broad support in the Democratic-led chamber.

But that changed dramatically in recent days after Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon offered their amendment to strip out the identification requirement for first-time voters who register by mail. They were backed by a number of civil rights organizations.

"This provision would do far more to disenfranchise voters, than combat fraud," said Schumer.

Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican and chief author of the provision, disagreed. He charged, "The Democratic Party does not want to stop fraudulent voting, which is a serious violation of our civil rights."

If and when the Senate passes a bill, the legislation would have to be sent to a House-Senate conference to work out differences with the House measure and then sent to President Bush to sign into law.