The Senate overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan election reform bill on April 11 by a vote of 99 to 1.
The bill (S.565) had been debated off and on over the last two months and stalled because of a disagreement over anti-fraud identification requirements. Agreement between Senators from Oregon and Washington was reached late last month on identification requirements for mail-ballot voters. Senators also agreed to limit debate when the bill came back to the floor.
The legislation now goes to a House-Senate conference committee to resolve differences between bills passed by the two bodies. The House passed its bill (H.R. 3295) on December 12.
President George W. Bush praised the Senate action but indicated his support for the House approach to the issue. He said he hopes for the enactment of legislation that would “respect the primacy of state and local governments, and envision a limited but responsible role for the federal government.”
“We want to commend Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.),” said NACo President Javier Gonzales, “for their leadership and perseverance in satisfying all the different views and interests on this complex legislation. We urge that the bill move quickly to a conference with the House.”
“We are very pleased that election reform received such strong, bipartisan support in the Senate,” added Cathy Pearsall-Stipek, president of the National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials and Clerks (NACRC). “We are hopeful that the final bill will give state and county election officials more resources and flexibility in implementing these reforms.”
House and Senate conferees were appointed in mid-April. Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Administration Committee and ranking committee Democrat Steny Hoyer (Md.) will head the House contingent.
Dodd, chairman of the Rules Committee, and McConnell, ranking Republican on the committee, will lead the Senate conferees.
It is not clear how long it will take to reach an agreement on a final compromise bill. There are major differences on the role and authority of the federal government in determining how the legislation is implemented.
NACo, NACRC, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of Secretaries of State have strongly supported the House-passed bill. While H.R. 3295 requires states establish statewide voter registration systems, provisional voting and voting machine standards, there is flexibility in how these goals are met.
The Senate bill directs the Department of Justice, and later the new Election Assistance Commission, to draft federal rules on meeting voter registration, provisional balloting and access for disabled voters.
The House bill establishes a formula-based grants program based on voting-age population. States would be able to certify that they are complying with the grant requirements in the legislation. The Senate bill establishes a competitive grants program open to both states and counties. The Department of Justice would have to approve the grant applications.
Both bills authorize substantial funding over several years to improve voting equipment and other election administration systems. While major funding is expected in FY03, there is House leadership support for adding $650 million to a FY02 supplemental appropriations bill now pending before Congress. The supplemental funding bill could be passed by the end of May.
