Senators split on key election reform vote

WASHINGTON -- They agreed there should be a crackdown on fraudulent election ballots, but Missouri Sens. Kit Bond and Jean Carnahan parted ways on how much proof of identity a voter should have to produce.

The disagreement brought the U.S. Senate to a standstill Wednesday as it debated a sweeping election reform bill, with lawmakers divided on party lines.

The election overhaul stems from Florida balloting problems that threw the presidency into question, but the anti-fraud provisions grew from the Election Day controversy in Missouri, where Republicans accused Democrats of trying to steal the 2000 election.

Led by Bond, author of the anti-fraud provisions, Republicans began stalling debate on the bill after failing to kill an amendment by Democrats that would allow voters to guarantee their identities by signature, matched by records on file with election officials.

Bond said the plan would "disembowel" his vote fraud provisions by making it easier to cast a fake ballot. The bill would require first-time voters to present photo identification or proof of address, such as utility bills or paychecks, when they arrive at the polls.

"We will be making it easier to cheat," Bond said. "Signature verification does not work."

But Democratic senators said that in his zeal to protect the integrity of the voting process, Bond was proposing to tread on the rights of voters. Poor and elderly voters don't all have driver's licenses or the other documentation that would be required, said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who proposed the signature verification with the backing of such groups as AARP, United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and AFL-CIO.

Civil rights issue

"There is a feeling in the civil rights community that people use the excuse of voter fraud to discourage voting by people of color, urban dwellers, immigrants," Schumer said.

Bond's response: "That's hogwash."

"We took account of all those things in negotiations," he said, noting that Democratic leaders agreed to his provisions during six months of talks. "We offered all kinds of alternatives and even said you can have provisional voting, if you can't come up with anything -- a photo ID, a utility bill, a government check, a bank statement, a paycheck stub.

Against fraud

"To me, we covered every possible base," he added. "It's hard to imagine anybody who could not meet those requirements or could not get assistance in getting an ID if they did not have one."

Bond said he was disappointed that Carnahan voted to preserve the signature verification: "I thought she was listening to Missourians, as I was, who are outraged about it -- and it's not just Missourians out-state, I've talked to Missourians in St. Louis who say, 'I want to make sure my vote is counted,"' he said.

Carnahan said she supports Bond's efforts.

"All of us want to prevent fraud, and we're doing all we can to do that," said Carnahan.