Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 6, 1993 TAG: 9305060203
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The vote was 259-164.
Republicans fought the measure, saying it would give orders to the states on how to register voters without providing the money needed to pay for the changes.
But Democrats suggested the GOP simply didn't want more people to register.
The Senate is expected to approve the compromise reached by House-Senate negotiators and send the bill to the White House later in the week for President Clinton's signature.
"Here's another example of President Clinton moving on a campaign commitment and delivering," said Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M. "It will give a political voice to millions of Americans."
"It will widen the circle of democracy even more," said House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo. "It makes the voter registration process user-friendly."
The measure permits voter registration by mail or at motor vehicle offices and a wide range of other agencies, including public assistance and disability offices.
Under the compromise insisted on by Senate Republicans, states are required to offer voter registration at welfare offices under a set of rules designed to prevent coercion by officials favoring one party over another.
States would be permitted, but not required, to allow people to register at unemployment offices.
And voter registration also would be offered to people seeking to enlist in the armed forces.
Many Republicans insisted the bill still was seriously flawed.
"It mandates pushing new costs on the states," said Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla. "It takes away the right of local voting officials to fully purge the voting roles, opening the doors to fraud."
"It should be called the auto-fraudo bill," said Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La.
But Rep. Al Swift, D-Wash., said, "What we're seeing today is people shopping for an argument that is as respectable as they can possibly find for not registering more people to vote."
Before moving to final passage, the House defeated, 252-170, a GOP motion to return the bill to conference with instructions to change it so states could ask for evidence of citizenship when people register to vote.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said that without the provision the bill should be named "the illegal alien registration act."
But Democrats said the bill provides criminal penalties for those who register fraudulently.
Here's how Virginia's Representatives voted:
Herbert Bateman, R-Newport News - no.
Owen Pickett, D-Virginia Beach - no.
Robert C. Scott, D-Newport News - yes.
Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg - yes.
L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County - yes.
Robert Goodlatte, R-Roanoke - no.
Thomas J. Bliley, R-Richmond - no.
James Moran, D-Alexandria - yes.
Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon - yes.
Frank Wolf, R-Fairfax County - no.
Leslie Byrne, D-Fairfax - yes.
by CNB