ST. LOUIS -- If successful, a Democratic lawsuit challenging a new election rule by Republican Secretary of State Matt Blunt probably would create "chaos on a new level" and encourage fraud at Election Day polling places, Blunt said Tuesday.

Two Democratic elected officials have sued to block the rule Blunt put in effect Monday in a case that could determine how easy it is for some Missourians to vote Nov. 5.

At issue is a state law passed earlier this year that lets a person whose eligibility is questioned cast a "provisional ballot" in federal and state races.

The ballot, which would not include local issues or races, is counted only if the person's eligibility is later verified.

Last week's lawsuit by State Auditor Claire McCaskill and Sen. Maida Coleman, both Democrats, argues that the rules impose more restrictions than allowed under the law and should be barred from use in the elections. McCaskill is on the ballot in November; Coleman does not face re-election until 2004.

Under Blunt's rule, a voter can cast a provisional ballot if eligibility cannot be immediately established by one of three means:

A central precinct office, after being contacted by an election judge, determines it has no record of a voter.

A voter's name does not appear on a precinct register and election judges cannot reach a central voting office.

A person's name is not on the voter registration files when an absentee ballot is requested.

Blunt said the lawsuit, if successful, could create "bedlam at the polling places" by letting people cast provisional ballots at polls where they were not assigned to vote, rather than having someone direct them to the correct polling place.

"The reason we have assigned polling places is obvious -- so we have orderly voting on Election Day," he said. "Going to the proper polling place is a fairly time-honored tradition.

Those behind the lawsuit "are trying to say that polling places don't matter, and that's going to lead to chaos, clearly. We'll probably see chaos on a new level," he said. "What the plaintiffs want is an election almost impossible for election officials to conduct."

Messages left Tuesday with McCaskill and Coleman were not immediately returned.

McCaskill, Coleman and Democratic Gov. Bob Holden have said Blunt's rule could discourage voting. St. Louis attorney Don Downing, representing McCaskill and Coleman, said the rule goes beyond the law's requirement that a voter whose eligibility cannot "immediately" be determined should be given a provisional ballot. Voters should not have to wait while poll workers make phone calls, Downing said.

Blunt said the rules, and the new law, are aimed at preventing voter fraud like that which occurred in past elections in Coleman's hometown of St. Louis.

After the November 2000 elections, Blunt released a report concluding that court orders issued in the city and St. Louis county improperly allowed 1,233 people to vote. Also in 2000, hundreds of voters were turned away from the polls in St. Louis, prompting a judge to order the polls open after their scheduled closing -- a decision overruled later that night.

"I believe there are some that want to use this new (provisional balloting) tool to commit fraud on Election Day and create chaos," Blunt said. He called his rule sensible in perhaps preventing additional voting disputes "in those parts of the state that have given the state a black eye and stained our reputation."

"People in this state are really tired of seeing what happens in St. Louis on Election Day," Blunt said. "We don't want people to wonder what kind of election system we have."

On Monday, Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder heard brief arguments in the lawsuit before delaying the case until Thursday, saying he needed more time to review it and that attorneys needed time to gather more witnesses.

The provisional voting legislation passed earlier this year and signed by Holden was part of a larger elections bill that grew out of voting problems in the 2000 elections in St. Louis and Florida.

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On the Net

Secretary of State: http://www.sos.state.mo.us

State Auditor: http://www.auditor.state.mo.us