2002 Ad

National Voter, Jan-Feb, 2003 by Kay J. Maxwell

Two thousand and two was an extraordinary year for the League. Some analysts say that the 107th Congress didn't accomplish very much, but this was an exceptional year for several issues about which the League cares deeply.

Last spring, Congress passed the campaign finance reform (CFR) bill, reforms the League had been advocating for five years. This major reform legislation, the first in quite a long time, was based on strategic decisions made by the League board five years ago. Working with a group of scholars, the League decided to concentrate on closing the worst loopholes in campaign finance law--the soft money and the sham "issue ad" loopholes. With perseverance, grassroots work, and media outreach and lobbying in Washington, we prevailed--the McCain/Feingold, Shays/Meehan legislation was signed into law in March.

CFR has been a League priority for some twenty-five years and the work is still not over. Much remains to be done in implementing the new law and protecting it against those who would create new loopholes, and in seeking additional reforms in the next Congress.

Election administration reform, another of the League's priority issues, saw success in the fall. The new Help America Vote Act is a huge step forward. In addition to promising nearly four billion dollars in federal funding, the legislation moves substantial authority for elections to state governments. The federal assistance will come through the states, based on state plans. There will be new state-wide computerized voter registration lists, with the chief state election official responsible for those lists, including intake and purging requirements; provisional balloting systems according to state law; and new voter identification procedures that are uniform and non-discriminatory throughout a state.

The League, and our coalition allies, can and should take credit for the many good provisions in this law. We worked hard and successfully employed a broad array of lobbying and media strategies. This is not to say that the final legislation is perfect. In fact, the bill does roll back existing federal protections in the voter registration process.

As one Senate staffer noted, "This bill allows the good states to do a very good job. But bad states can do a bad job." Implementation is the key. Basic federal standards for voting systems, provisional ballots, statewide voter lists and voter identification systems now exist. How they are implemented will require constant and effective citizen involvement. For voter registration, there are tools to make sure that every eligible citizen can register to vote. But the system, including voter identification mechanisms, could keep certain citizens out of the voting process. Our continued efforts are essential to making sure the system works for all voters.