The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 have shaken confidence in the country’s electoral system. A bipartisan commission has come up with recommendations to restore faith in the system.

Combining elements that would increase ballot access while also protecting against fraud, the commission has presented Congress with a list of workable ideas. The question now is whether Congress, brought to power by the current system, has any interest in meaningful election reform.

The ideas include requiring a picture ID for voting, requiring a verifiable paper trail for all voting machines, opening the process to legitimate observers and seeking a uniform procedure for dealing with provisional ballots. The commission also recommends lumping primaries and caucuses into four regional contests, which would follow the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. The recommendation also calls on states to make voter registration easier and to link voter lists among states to eliminate duplicate registrations.

The overall message from the commission is that voting procedures need to be uniform and that every effort should be made to protect the integrity of voting while also making it simpler for people to participate. The commission has balanced many concerns and developed a good road map for electoral reform.

Congress should use that map to find a system for better, more trustworthy elections.