WASHINGTON, Oct 16: A bill to overhaul the US election system in response to the disputed 2000 White House contest won final US congressional approval on Wednesday, clearing the way for President George W. Bush to sign it into law.

Hailed as the first major civil rights legislation of the 21st century, the $3.9 billion measure would help states replace antiquated voting machines, educate voters and train poll workers.

It would also require states to: improve access to the voting booth for the disabled; define what constitutes a vote on various machines; adopt new anti-fraud provisions; create statewide computerized voter registration systems and permit people to check ballots and correct errors before their votes are counted.

In addition, voters who are challenged at the polling place would be allowed to cast provisional ballots, which would be counted later if they were determined to be eligible.

Capping a nearly two-year-old reform drive on Capitol Hill, the Senate passed the bipartisan measure, 92 to 2. It sailed through the House of Representatives last week, 357 to 48.

Bush, in a brief statement issued by the White House, saluted Congress for passing the legislation and said: “I look forward to signing these important election reforms into law.”

“We are breaking new ground here,” said Sen Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, the chief democratic sponsor of The Help America Vote Act.

“This is the first time in more than 200 years that the federal government is going to take a very proactive involvement in the conduct of elections,” Dodd said, noting that until then they had been basically handled alone by the states.

Sen Kit Bond of Missouri, a lead Republican sponsor who insisted on anti-fraud provisions in the final compromise version of the measure, said: “This bill is going to make it easier to vote and tougher to cheat.”—Reuters