
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 21, 1993                   TAG: 9305210105
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

CLINTON SIGNS `MOTOR VOTER' BILL INTO LAW

President Clinton signed into law Thursday a landmark measure requiring states to ease voting registration, ending a hard-fought battle by Democrats and advocates for young, disabled and minority Americans.

The so-called "motor voter" law requires states to allow registration by mail, as well as when citizens apply for or renew a driver's license, visit welfare and other government agencies or stop by a military recruiting office.

"Voting is an empty promise unless people vote," Clinton said at the White House signing ceremony. "Now, there is no longer the excuse of the difficulty of registration."

Whether the new law will result in increased voter turnout, however, is the subject of dispute. Clinton said it would: "Motor voter works at registering voters, and people who register vote." But states with similar laws generally have experienced higher turnout in the first election after enactment, but no long-term climb.

Critics have argued that some provisions invite fraud, particularly one that prohibits purging a name from voting rolls solely because the individual has not voted for an extended time.

by CNB