WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Four regional presidential primaries should be held in general election years, photo ID be presented at the polls and paper copies be made by electronic voting machines, a bipartisan commission led by former US President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker recommended on Monday.

    "The American people are losing confidence in the system, and they want electoral reform," Carter said in a statement.

    Carter and Baker delivered the plan to President George W. Bush and Congressional leaders on Monday and talked about their plan at the Capitol.

    The commission made 87 recommendations for strengthening the integrity of a process shaken by voting controversies, and Carter said the panel hoped most of its recommendations would be passed by the 2008 presidential election.

    The panel proposed that the Congress require the political parties to hold four regional presidential primaries at monthly intervals in March, April, May and June in election years, rather than allowing states to hold primaries whenever they wish, as things happen so quickly in primary campaigns that "most Americans have no say in the selection of presidential nominees."

    A rotating regional primary, with Iowa and New Hampshire continuing to vote first because "they test the candidates by genuine retail, door-to-door campaigning," would "expand participation in the process" and "give voters the chance to closely evaluate the presidential candidates over a three-to four-month period," it said.

    Other major recommendations included states, not local jurisdictions, should be in charge of voter registration; voters should be required to present photo ID cards at the polls; and electronic voting machines should make paper copies for auditing.

    The commission, called the Commission on Federal Election Reform, was established in the aftermath of the debacle in Florida in 2000, which put the outcome of the presidential election that year in doubt for more than a month.

    In a statement, Bush said he appreciated the work of the commission "in identifying ways to strengthen the integrity of the voting process."

    "It is critical to maintain America's trust in our election system, and I look forward to reviewing this report and working with Congress on the recommendations," he said. Enditem