EXCERPT

It has been almost a year and a half since the vote-counting debacle in Florida that tainted the 2000 presidential election. Yesterday the Senate approved an election reform bill that should help restore integrity to voting systems around the nation. The Senate's approach of establishing firm mandates for states to follow in administering national elections ought to be retained when reconciled with the more modest version previously passed by the House.

The Senate's election measure, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, was put together by Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, and the Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. It calls for minimum standards for the error rate in voting systems, and for provisional voting in cases of questionable or challenged ballots. Voters would be able to correct improperly marked ballots, and a new Federal Election Administration Commission would serve as a clearinghouse for election information. In addition, up to $3.4 billion in federal aid would be spent over five years to help states meet the new requirements.

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