EXCERPT

The unravelling of the electoral process in Florida, where Mr Bush won by a mere 537 votes, shed light on nationwide electoral shortcomings. Inaccurate voter lists, malfunctioning voting systems and badly run polling stations were the main culprits.

Despite early momentum, efforts at national reform have waned. Early calls, by Senator Hillary Clinton and others, for a reform of the Electoral College faded fast as it became clear such a bill would never get through Congress.

But more than 1,500 reform bills have now been proposed in 50 state legislatures and 34 at the federal level.

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