Posted on 02/27/2002 7:16:17 AM PST by RCW2001
Amendment easing identification requirement threatens election bill consensus
JANELLE CARTER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
©2002 Associated Press
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/02/27/national0408EST0480.DTL
(02-27) 07:57 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
Senate Democrats on Wednesday held off Republican attempts to kill an amendment that eases identification requirements for first-time voters.
Lawmakers were expected to take up the amendment again and Democrats were already predicting victory. But Republican leaders have threatened to delay the overall $3.4 billion proposal if the amendment passes.
"This amendment is the poison pill of election reform," Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican sponsor of the elections bill, said shortly before Democrats held off GOP attempts to kill the amendment in a 51-46 vote.
The amendment would allow voters to guarantee their identities by signature, matched by records on file with state or local election officials.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said House and Senate leaders discussed the bill, among other legislative issues, with President Bush over breakfast Wednesday morning at the White House.
Republicans have complained that a signature is not enough to deter fraud. They want to keep provisions in the bill that require first-time voters to present photo identification or proof of address, such as utility bills and paychecks, when they show up to vote.
"It would be easier to vote and easier to cheat," Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said of the Democratic proposal. Bond included the more strict identification provisions in his bill in response to election-year problems in his own state that included dead aldermen and a dog being registered to vote.
Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana, R-Mont., insisted the requirement was not burdensome, noting that citizens have to use identification for everything from boarding a plane to picking up a theater ticket. "It boils down to the responsibility of each and every citizen to be in a position to vote," he said.
But Democrats said the requirement would disenfranchise poor and elderly voters.
"The outcry that occurred in Florida was not because of fraud," said Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, a sponsor of the amendment. "It was because of disenfranchised voters. For one reason or another, they could not vote."
The bill as written "disenfranchises so many who aren't typical middle class Americans," Schumer said, noting that half the states already allow some form of signature verification system. "The poor person doesn't have a car, doesn't have a phone, doesn't own a home."
There are also concerns that the bill would cause problems for states with vote-by-mail systems like Oregon and Washington state.
"Putting a photo ID system in place ... is not the way to go," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. another sponsor of the amendment.
A group of senators is also complaining about an amendment proposed by Sen. Robert Torricelli that would require broadcasters to offer low-cost political ads to federal candidates.
"The Torricelli amendment is a subsidy for federal candidates," said the letter sent to senators from Burns and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Jesse Helms, R-N.C., Ted Stevens, R-Alaska and Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
The Senate elections bill requires that states enact reforms including computerizing state registration lists and improving accessibility for the disabled to poll areas.
The House already has passed a $2.6 billion elections bill. Once the Senate completes its work, it will be up to House and Senate negotiators to develop a compromise.
©2002 Associated Press
This and other STOP VOTE FRAUD bills are CRITICAL to defeating Demonrats because the ONLY WAY THEY CAN WIN NOW IS TO CHEAT, LIE, AND VOTE ILLEGALLY. They know this and will do whatever it takes to ensure Voter Fraud continues.
What can you do? Call your Senator(s) and tell them that vote fraud hurts all Americans - and must be stopped!
This and other STOP VOTE FRAUD bills are CRITICAL to defeating Demonrats because the ONLY WAY THEY CAN WIN NOW IS TO CHEAT, LIE, AND VOTE ILLEGALLY. They know this and will do whatever it takes to ensure Voter Fraud continues.
What can you do? Call your Senator(s) and tell them that vote fraud hurts all Americans - and must be stopped!
In other words, the poor and the elderly are cheaters and could not stand up to an identification process.
Why don't the dems just come out and say, "We know we can't win without cheating."
Well, that's exactly the point, isn't it?
It didn't help that Gordon Smith voted with the RATS on this! I guess two other RINOS decided to join Benedict Jeffords and not bother to vote.
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