But it was also an occasion of unaccustomed suspense because of the collapse of the system of surveying voters leaving polls that has made early calls standard for elections for more than three decades.
Just a few years after the anti-trapping initiative, in 2000, the NRA and the rest of the trophy hunting lobby succeeded in getting state politicians to place a measure on the ballot to create a higher threshold for passing wildlife protection initiatives in Arizona -- a two-thirds vote, rather than the simple majority vote that is the standard for elections in a democratic society.
The House and Senate bills set minimum federal standards for election and voting procedures, which now vary widely by state and county.
We need fair, nonpartisan standards for election administration, that ensure that all eligible voters, and only eligible voters, get to vote, and that minority voting rights are protected.
By a vote of 99 to 1, the Senate passed legislation to set federal standards for election procedures, with the hope of preventing ballot disputes like the ones in Florida after the 2000 presidential election.
In a dramatic departure from past voting practices, the board of directors of baseball's Hall of Fame paved the way yesterday for more players to be elected while saying it acted in the interest of maintaining its high standards for election.
President Bush has said he will sign that bill, and he has also indicated his support for the measure setting minimum federal standards for elections.
"New Standards for Elections" (editorial, "Making Votes Count" series, Nov. 7) is a very good proposal, especially the rules regarding electronic voting machines.
U.N. Questions New Rules Proposed for Iraqi Charter A United Nations spokesman said newly adopted rules for the coming Iraqi constitutional referendum appeared to violate accepted international standards for elections, and United Nations officials pressured Iraq's Kurdish and Shiite legislators to reconsider the rule change.
