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1 (November 30, 2001)

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       Order Code RS20898
Updated November 30, 2001


Elections Reform: Overview and Issues


                       Kevin J. Coleman
          Analyst in American National Government
              Government and Finance Division

                        Eric A. Fischer
         Senior Specialist in Science and Technology
         Resources, Science, and Industry Division


Summary


     The remarkable circumstances of the 2000 Presidential election are quite unlikely
 to be repeated, but Florida's role in determining the outcome may be remembered as a
 turning point with respect to the nation's election system. Previously obscure details of
 voting and vote counting have become the focus of public attention, and various state
 and national commissions have issued reports or recommendations on changing the
 voting process. Some states have already made plans to replace voting equipment and
 adopt other improvements before the 2002 election cycle, while others are considering
 similar changes.
     As Congress considers legislation to reform the voting process, a number of issues
 have emerged as part of the debate: the reliability of different types of voting
 technologies; voting problems and irregularities in the 2000 election; problems for
 military and overseas voters; the electoral college; and early media proj ections of election
 results. For additional information on these issues, see the CRS Electronic Briefing
 Book on Election Reform. For a discussion of campaign finance reform issues, see the
 CRS Electronic Briefing Book on Campaign Finance Reform. This report will be
 updated periodically to reflect new developments.


 Voting Systems

    After election day 2000, the media focused attention on specific problems with
punchcard voting. Since then, however, broader questions have arisen about error rates,
costs, counting standards, and other issues, as election officials consider upgrading current
systems. Elections in the United States are administered at the state and local level, and
the federal government does not set mandatory standards for voting systems, nor does it
provide funding to state and local jurisdictions for the administration of elections. While
initial reactions to concerns raised by the November 2000 election tended to focus on


Congressional Research Service +. The Library of Congress


CRS Report for Congress

              Received through the CRS Web

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