Internet Voting Stirs Debate In MichiganInternet Voting Stirs Debate In Michigan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Michigan Democratic Party is looking to increase turnout in its presidential caucus through Internet voting, despite criticism that the plan could disadvantage poor and minority voters who are less likely to own a computer.

The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee is set to vote Saturday on whether to approve Michigan's plan, which also allows voting in person or by mail. The decision could affect who will win the state's Feb. 7 caucus with polls showing that Internet voting is a boost to front-runner Howard Dean.

The Michigan plan has become an issue among the rival campaigns. Seven of Dean's opponents joined 20 Michigan voters in protesting it. The group is led by Joel Ferguson, a black DNC member from Lansing, who said Internet voting puts the party's most reliable constituency--blacks and the poor--at a disadvantage.

"Until everybody has the Internet, nobody should have it" as an option in the caucus, he said.

The Michigan Democratic Party says its plan is fair because voters without Internet access have other ways to participate. The plan was adopted in April, before Dean's campaign took off, and party leaders say they did not mean to give any candidate an edge.

"You should not change the rules in the middle of the game," said Debbie Dingell, a DNC committee member from Michigan. "This should not be candidate driven."

Although Dean's rivals are not officially listed on the complaint, some of their aides have been contacting members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee to argue against the plan. Last month, they sent a letter to leaders of the DNC and the Michigan party, arguing the state's plan "creates a clear and colossal digital divide between those who have easy Internet access and those who do not."

Wesley Clark is the only candidate besides Dean who did not object. Jonathan Beeton, spokesman for Clark's Michigan campaign, said Clark supports Internet voting because it expands access and improves democracy.

Beeton said Clark feels confident he can compete against Dean "either by mail, by Internet or at caucus sites."

A poll taken in Michigan last month shows Dean with a slight lead among likely caucus-goers, but his support jumps significantly among those who plan to vote by Internet.

The stakes are high in the decision, with Michigan expected to play a key role in determining the Democratic presidential nominee. The state will have more delegates up for grabs than any of the nine states that come before it.

Registered Michigan Democrats who want to vote by mail or Internet must request an absentee ballot from the state party ahead of time. They will be sent a ballot that can be returned by mail. The ballot also will include a code that can be used to access a Web site for voting.

A hearing officer appointed by the Democratic National Committee ruled in September that no voter will be deprived of participation because of the options to vote by mail or in person. But she required the state party to take additional steps to make voting easier for those who want to participate in the caucuses.

Those steps include increasing the number of caucus sites from 429 to 576; setting up a toll-free hot line to help Internet voters; identifying the location of all publicly available computers with Internet access in minority and low-income areas; and working with community and civil rights groups to publicize those locations.

Michigan Democratic Party executive chairman Mark Brewer said the party is already fulfilling the requirements. He said 1,400 terminals with free Internet access have been identified at libraries across the state and the party is searching for more.

Brewer said the party expects Internet voting will double the normal turnout, which is what happened when Arizona allowed Internet voting in its Democratic presidential primary in 2000.

Several DNC officials interviewed Wednesday said they expect the committee to side with the state party.

"This does not eliminate any way that people have voted in the past," said Don Fowler, the former DNC chairman. "It's just an additional way and it's obviously one that will be a wave of the future. I find it ludicrous that anybody would try to make a candidate issue out of this."

Donna Brazile, a committee member helping to bring more blacks to the polls, said she carefully examined whether minorities would be disenfranchised under the Michigan plan. She said with improvements made by the hearing officer, "the access argument sort of melts away."