Teachers Guide to Election Reform Page 1 LESSON 4: ELECTION REFORM AT THE STATE LEVEL Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will examine election reform at the state level. Students will analyze the differences among states. Students will discuss relevant issues such as voter identification. Students will determine whether their state’s election reform will meet the needs of its people. Teaching Procedures: Activity 1:    What can you do about election reform in your state? Read the three articles about election reform. They are Student Handout Number 4, Student Handout Number 5, and Student Handout Number 6. After reading each article, lead a discussion about the issues represented in each. Also think about the following question: How has our history as a nation led us to this point as we approach the election of 2002? o  Student Handout Number 4. Answer the question: Did a train wreck occur on the primary election day? Why or why not?   “Civil Rights Commission Revisits Florida and Hears Warnings of Future Election Problems” By Aron Goetzl   electionline.org Published 6/27/2002   “MIAMI,  Fla.  –  While  election  reform  might  have  transcended  party  politics in  Congress  and  many  state  legislatures,  it  can  still  roil  deep  partisan  tensions here.   Local   Democratic   legislators   and   election   officials,   along   with   representatives from   left-leaning   civil   rights   groups,   warned   the   U.S.   Commission   on   Civil Rights   last   week   at   a  hearing  in  downtown  Miami  that  there  would  be  more problems   for   Florida   in   November’s   election   because   state   Republicans   had not   done   enough   to   fix   the   many   problems   that   plagued   the   disputed   2000 presidential election.   Gov.   Jeb   Bush   and   Secretary   of   State   Katherine   Harris,   both   Republicans, responded   one   day   later   by   attacking   the   credibility   of   the   liberal-majority commission and its chairwoman, Mary Frances Berry.     Clearly,  Florida  Democrats’  outrage  at  the  administration  of  the  2000  race  has yet  to  dissipate.  If  the  warnings  from  the  panelists  at  last  week’s  commission hearing    are    borne    out    in    the    September    primary    and    November    general elections, that anger may seethe for some time to come. Those  that  did  show  up  said  essentially  the  same  thing:  The  legislature  and  the governor   did   act   in   some   areas,   but   they   didn’t   go   far   enough.   Citing   an inadequate  definition  of  provisional  balloting,  a  lack  of  voter  education,  and  a new   and   still   untested   statewide   voter   file,   combined   with   the   usual   problems