Even as many in the United States are focused on the threat of biological terrorism, some are turning their attention to last year's national crisis -- election difficulties and reform. Four reports, released this week by the General Accounting Office (GAO), give a wealth of information on how elections are currently conducted in the United States, what contributed toward votes going uncounted in the last presidential elections, and how various reform proposals should be evaluated. The last report, at 80 pages, is the "capping report" from the GAO and addresses the challenges of undertaking any reform proposal. GAO emphasizes that the federal election system is fundamentally "51 individual systems that in turn are administered and principally funded by more than 10,000 counties, cities, townships, and villages."