The House yesterday passed and sent to the Senate legislation to make it easier to register to vote.
The "motor voter" bill would require most states to allow citizens to register when they apply for driver's licenses and unemployment or welfare benefits. Most states also would have to permit registration by mail. And states would be required to register voters at other public facilities, such as libraries and schools.
President Clinton promised during the campaign to sign the bill that the Senate plans to consider soon. Sponsors said the bill, which passed 256 to 160 along party lines, would increase voter turnout. The measure would take effect in 1995. States that must amend their constitutions would have an additional year to implement the new registration programs.
Republican lawmakers argued that the bill's provisions would encourage electoral fraud and impose heavy costs on state and local governments. Rep. William M. Thomas (R-Calif.) predicted the measure would help dead, moved or imaginary voters cast ballots. "Every one of those votes cast dilutes an honest vote," he said. "A number of illegal aliens will wind up with a driver's license and on the voting rolls."
But Rep. Al Swift (D-Wash.), the bill's chief sponsor, said 28 states with similar registration programs have not reported a rise in voter fraud.
"This is a classic example of using states as a laboratory. . . . Most Americans today can register by post card," he said. "The fraud issue that is being raised here today is the biggest fraud in this debate."
Swift also argued that GOP critics exaggerated the administrative costs imposed on state and local governments. The federal government would absorb $4 million to $5 million in costs to lower postage costs on voter registration cards.
In the last Congress, the House passed a nearly identical bill, 268 to 153, but President Bush vetoed it. The Senate failed last July to override the veto.