<p>I appreciate the recent attention the Post-Dispatch has given to the importance of election reform in our state and nation, particularly in light of the fraud and irregularities that plagued Missouri in the November 2000 election.</p>
<p>I have been working on a bipartisan basis on changes to state laws that have made the ballot more accessible to registered voters than at any other time in our state's history. At the same time, there are now more stringent anti-fraud measures in the law to combat those who attempt to manipulate the process. Through the administrative rules process, I set uniform voting standards for all three kinds of voting systems used in Missouri to prevent a Florida-style election crisis from occurring here.</p>