Democratic Congress to Voters: What Election Problems?

Will Congress be able to overcome the specter of Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 haunting our election system in time for the 2008 vote? That question takes on new importance because of the Supreme Court decision last week upholding Indiana's draconian photo ID law, which is likely to increase support for a host of GOP-led initiatives designed to limit voting and combat the mythical epidemic of "voter fraud."

In recent weeks, a flurry of hearings has given the impression that the Democratic-led Congress is starting to crack down on assorted vote suppression schemes -- from voter "caging" to unchecked purges of voting rolls -- that have been encouraged by the Bush Justice Department. And progressives, as shown by a unique $350 million voter mobilization campaign launched in mid-March by a coalition of liberal and labor groups, including both the AFL-CIO and the non-partisan ACORN, appear finally ready to overcome these voting rights barriers by adding millions of voters to back their causes or candidates. At long last, it might seem, the federal government could be moving to allow fair voting and full participation -- essential to any election victories for progressives this year.

Appearances, unfortunately, can be deceiving. Despite a series of House and Senate hearings probing voter restrictions based on the myth of voter fraud and mostly GOP dirty tricks, it now seems virtually certain that not a single piece of major election reform legislation will pass Congress in time for the November, 2008 elections. "The outlook is somewhat bleak," concedes Tanya Clay House, the public policy director of People for The American Way (PFAW).

The likely voting crisis was given new urgency not only by the Supreme Court ruling but by serious election problems that have surfaced in Pennsylvania and other primary states as well. Admittedly, few, if any, Republican-dominated states, such as Missouri, are likely to pass any new photo ID laws in time for November. But a chilling new report in mid-April by the Election Protection coalition, released by the National Campaign for Fair Elections, found everything from machine breakdowns to vote-suppressing deceptive practices in the primary season before the April 22 Pennsylvania primary. Election Protection, Voter Action and Common Cause reported finding machine breakdowns, harassment and voter registration foul-ups in their monitoring of the Pennsylvania primary two weeks ago. Voter Action even filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to force the Philadelphia election board to provide emergency paper ballots to voters who were turned away after machines broke down.

Just don't expect any help from the federal government to solve such problems. Few election reform advocates on Capitol Hill or in national advocacy groups openly admit that their legislative reform agenda is dead for this year. But some reformers in such key battleground states as Pennsylvania and Ohio are "preparing for the worst," as Pennsylvania PFAW coordinator Celeste Taylor puts it. For Pennsylvania voters, some will likely face being purged from rolls because of database errors while most will be voting on paperless electronic machines that don't allow for reliable recounts.

"The election system isn't ready for a potentially historic election," especially with the expected huge turnout, observes Jonah Goldman, the director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections. "There's a potential for chaos any place there's a close election," he says. "And there are certain operatives who could care less [about election laws] and will do whatever it takes to get their candidates elected -- and I'm not sure the Justice Department is going to do anything about it."

No Action in Congress

Equally troubling, a variety of bills aimed at halting some of the most egregious abuses and fixing unreliable electronic voting machines have essentially stalled in Congress -- primarily due to Republican opposition in the Senate in an election year. "It's a difficult environment to pass any legislation," one knowledgeable Senate staffer admits. "The challenge is being able to frame the debate so it's not fraud [the GOP concern] vs. access [the Democratic concern], so that we find some policies that are seen as just good public administration practices."