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CNN Live At Daybreak

President Bush to Receive Report on National Voting Reform Today

Aired July 31, 2001 - 07:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Later this morning, President Bush gets a report on improving the nation's voting system from former Presidents Carter and Ford. The president has been under pressure to address problems that came up in last fall's Florida election. Mr. Carter and Mr. Ford are co-chairman of the 19-member National Commission on Federal Election Reform.

And among their recommendations: statewide voter registration, allowing voters challenged by poll workers to cast provisional ballots, a holiday for national elections and absentee voting for eligible voters overseas.

All right. Well let's see if the Bush administration is reacting to the recommendations from this group.

Here's CNN White House correspondent John King.

I mean, John, an obvious question here, what does this mean to the Bush administration? George W. Bush is already in office.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly he's been in office six months now, Carol, and the last thing this president wants is more discussion about dimpled ballots and pregnant chads and the revisiting 36-day standoff over the Florida election results.

But the president will receive this report today. He will meet privately with President Carter and a number key - another key member of that commission, the former House Republican leader Bob Michael, beforehand. In a Rose Garden ceremony, we're told, the president will endorse the broad principles of the report. He will steer away from the specifics. There are about 80 recommendations in all in this report, but the president will thank the commission for its work, he will endorse the principles.

We're told what the president likes most about this report is, despite calls by some for Washington, the federal government, to take a more stringent role in regulating elections, this report says elections should remain run by state and local communities. And the president will strongly embrace that provision, we are told.

As to whether voting day should be a federal holiday, the president will not specifically address that. One controversial recommendation in this report, allow felons to get their federal voting rights back. Again, the White House says the president won't specifically address that today. But White House aides do point out that when he was governor of Texas, he signed state legislation shortening the period of time once felons were released from jail that they could appeal to have their voting rights restored.

So again, Mr. Bush will try to look forward today, not backwards, embracing the main outline of this report. And again, the main emphasis of this report says states should decide their statewide voting standards. States should decide whether to go to higher technology like optical scanners or to stay with those controversial punch card ballots. That's what the president likes most, we're told - Carol.

LIN: That's right. And it's something that the state of Florida is already looking at.

Thanks, John.

KING: That's right.

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