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Senate Commerce Chairman McCain Tuesday introduced a bill aimed at standardizing the voting process throughout the country, as his committee searched for solutions to the election problems revealed by the 2000 presidential election.

McCain's bill, cosponsored by Commerce ranking member Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C., and Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., would "develop voluntary standards to ensure greater accuracy at every stage of the voter process," according to a McCain release.

Known as the "American Voting Standards and Technology Act," the legislation would delegate the task of developing voting standards to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It also would offer matching grants to states and localities to fund upgrades of voting equipment and technology.

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