A technical hitch stopped an amendment being passed yesterday to make it easier for people to vote.

The changes, partly made necessary by reforms which ditched the dual seat electoral system in favour of 36 single seat constituencies of equal size, had

cross-party support.

But two errors in the drafting of the Parliamentary Election Act Amendment Act 2003 means it could not get a third reading and is set to be brought back to the House next week.

If passed, the changes will come into effect upon the dissolution of Parliament and the next election will be held under the new system.

Yesterday's amendments removed references to dual seat constituencies and made provision for Returning Officers to declare as elected candidates who receive the only nomination for an electoral district.

Returning Officers will also have to report electoral ties to the Deputy Governor. The amendments also drop the requirement that identification cards for voting purposes be up to date.

Expired documents, with a verifiable date of birth, photograph and signature, will be acceptable. And cards issued by businesses were added to the list of acceptable identification.

People leaving the Island on an early morning flight will now have the right to vote in advance polls.

In the past, only those who could show that they would be off the Island on election day could vote in the advance poll.

Premier Jennifer Smith said the amendment would end the practice of barring a voter simply because their driver's licence or passport was a year or more out of date.

She quoted the example of a "Mrs Jones" who turned up to the polling station and was greeted by name by numerous candidates and polling staff only to be stopped by slightly out od date ID.

She said: "Everyone there knew that it was her but she was not allowed to vote. It's stupid."

The Premier said she had yet to see a case where there wasn't an official at the polling station who could vouch for a person who showed up to vote without proper ID.

"It's more likely everybody knows who this person is.

"You can't tell the citizens of this country that a vote is the most important right as a citizen then deprive them of that vote on a technicality."

Opposition leader Grant Gibbons said the change put the onus on the returning officer to decide whether the photo on the ID was still recognisable.

He said there was no time limit and a person could turn up in their 70s brandishing a passport photo taken in their 20s.

"We are not saying we don't support it but there could be a real judgment call," said Dr. Gibbons.

Opposition health spokesman Michael Dunkley said: "We would like to hear you are putting a time limit on expiry of a passport or licence. That would be fine and acceptable."

The Premier said Government were comfortable with allowing the returning officer discretion although she admitted some people aged and changed much faster than others.

Kim Young (UBP) noted home-bound people were now the only remaining group which was effectively disenfranchised.

"There's a group of people who are home-bound and they are denied the opportunity of voting because they physically cannot get to the polls," Mrs. Young said. That concern was shared by colleagues Pamela Gordon and John Barritt.

The homebound should be included in polling arrangements for voters who are institutionalised, Mrs. Young said.

The Opposition did, however, press home concerns that there may be a number of people who were not properly registered because they changed their residences and did not adjust their files as required.

And some of MPs expressed concern that relaxing the identification card requirements could open the way for fraud.

Introducing the measures, Premier Jennifer Smith outlined 400 years of electoral history and noted that real progress in achieving voter parity was only recently being made.

She acknowledged those "who fought so hard to ensure that one day the country will finally achieve the goal of one man, one vote, each vote of equal value."

Attorney General Dame Lois Browne-Evans, Deputy Speaker Walter Lister, Transport Minister Ewart Brown, backbencher Stanley Morton and Works Minister Alex Scott continued the history lesson.

Mr. Morton suggested that educational materials on electoral reform be prepared for the Island's students.

"What a struggle we've had," said Mr. Scott.

Former Premier Ms Gordon, a member of the Boundaries Commission which redrew the voting districts, came in for special praise from Dame Lois because she supported the report of the Commissioners and did not sign a dissenting opinion by her party colleague Mr. Barritt.

"She's gone up in everybody's estimation," Dame Lois said. "I laud her for signing the majority report... And I want the world to know that I praise her."

She suggested that Ms Gordon might stay long enough in the House to cross over to the Government benches.

"Don't go too far," Ms Gordon interjected.

She later said her party had evolved from a far-right position toward the centre much like the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) had moved toward the centre from "so far left" in order to win power.

The UBP pointed out a drafting error in which an amendment calling for the deletion of subsection one of section 40 of the act should have called for the deletion of subsection two.

And one amendment also called for the deletion of the word "vacancies" but Dr. Gibbons pointed out that word did not exist in the principal act.

Dr. Gibbons also expressed concern about a new rule allowing people to use a document of identity "issued by a corporate entity in Bermuda".

He said there were 12,000 corporate entities in Bermuda and the clause would allow a company to set up just to make identity cards.