Editorial

BOND WANTS TO CLEAN UP THE MOTOR VOTER LAW

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The federal Motor Voter Law does a lot more than allow Americans to register to vote almost any time they come in contact with government. It also forces local election officials to keep names of ineligible voters on registration lists for years. The result: The voting mess in St. Louis last November and in that city's mayoral primary earlier this month.

Missouri U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond introduced legislation last week to clean up some of the problems. His proposals would address registration by mail, updating of voting lists and purging of ineligible voters and allow for comparing motor-voter registrations with death certificates and felony-conviction records.

Bond's effort would go a long way in freeing up the St. Louis Election Board to get rid of thousands of names that shouldn't be on voter rolls. It would also be a giant stop toward undoing much of the folly of the Motor Voter Law.