Word: reformer
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...years ago, election reform legislation was on the fast track. In the weeks and months following the 2000 Florida debacle, Congress was spurred by public outrage, and members took to the floor of the House and Senate and whisked two bills through the chambers, each promising clearer voting procedures, more qualified poll workers, better vote recording mechanisms. Today, the House and Senate versions sit stalled in conference committee, where Democrats and Republicans bicker over relatively minor points...
...very close on the election reform action; it would be a shame if they didn't pass it on time because the differences are so slight," says James Thurber, professor of government and director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential studies at American University. A few points of conflict: Democrats want protections for disabled voters who may be excluded from non-accessible polling places. Republicans are more concerned with cutting down on voter fraud, pushing for new voter-identification requirements and stricter guidelines for mail-in registration...
...differences may be too much for this overloaded Congress to overcome. Since 9/11, congressional attention, like everyone else's, has snapped away from domestic policy and toward the war on terror. There are domestic issues on the table, says Thurber, but they are evergreen, high profile bills, like Medicare reform and bankruptcy protection measures. Issues, in other words, that directly affect this administration, says Susan Tolchin, professor of public policy and an expert on elections at George Mason University. "This is not an issue that has hurt Republicans so far," says Tolchin. "Look at what happened in Florida last week...
...thorny mess of election reform, ironically, seems to inflame voters less than questions of personal health or economic security. "If election reform doesn't pass in time to affect 2004," says Tolchin, "the vast majority of the public will just scratch their heads and move on. There's just no critical mass pushing for election reform...
...Last week's gubernatorial fiasco in Florida may have been a blessing in disguise for proponents of election reform. The state's latest voting glitches, which left the results of the Democratic primary for governor up in the air for days, refocused lawmakers and the public on the system's inherent problems and the dire need for corrections - and an influx of cash...