US President George W. Bush will propose spending $1.2 billion over three years to reform the nation's election system, White House officials said today.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Mr Bush's fiscal 2003 budget, expected to be released on February 4, would include 400 million in federal matching funds as a down payment on the election reform effort.
The Bush administration would contribute equal amounts in the 2004 and 2005 budgets, for a total of $1.2 billion, the White House said.
The commitment bolstered prospects for enactment of legislation aimed at preventing a repeat of the disputed 2000 presidential race. The Supreme Court made Bush the winner by refusing to permit Democrat Al Gore a hand recount of thousands of disputed Florida ballots.