Politics outweighed policy in yesterday's congressional debate on voting irregularities in the presidential election. But those who objected to the partisanship will serve themselves and the nation better if they stop scrapping and take the steps needed -- some of them obvious -- to fix the problems.

Republicans claimed that Democrats took the unusual step of challenging the certification of President Bush's victory in the Electoral College merely to give themselves a soapbox, and they are right. Many Democrats who debated heartily ended up voting to certify all 286 of Bush's votes -- even those from disputed Ohio.

Still, it was a worthwhile move because the November elections showed that much more needs to be done to give American voters confidence that the electoral process is sound.

It is true, as some in the GOP said, that many voting problems are the fault of state and local officials. But this is all the more reason for Congress to go back to work and improve the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

To start: Computer voting systems should be required to leave paper records. The handling of provisional ballots should be standardized. Ineffective systems should be modernized. And access to the ballot should be comparable in areas that are rich and poor, white and minority, Democratic and Republican. At least in elections for federal office, these improvements should be mandated by Congress. It is a disgrace that the 2002 legislation fell so far short.

Apart from appearances, Republicans objected to the Democrats' challenge yesterday because even though many examples of voting problems have been found in many states, no evidence has been uncovered of any fraudulent effort to steal the election. And in any event, Bush won Ohio by more than 118,000 votes.

But this is just the point. If a loser takes the oath and serves as president, it doesn't improve things a great deal if the mistake occurs by accident rather than theft. And the fact that Bush was the clear victor this time should only underline the need for certainty. His victory was clear but narrow -- a shift of only 60,000 votes in Ohio would have left the nation in turmoil for the second straight election.

Congress should establish electoral reform as a top priority for this session to improve balloting in the 2006 midterm elections and assure that the next president will be chosen by the voters, not by mischance, fraud, or the Supreme Court.

The two Democrats who demanded congressional debate on the issue yesterday -- Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio -- deserve credit, not scorn, for advancing a cause fundamental to the union.

© 2005 Boston Globe

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