OLYMPIA — Washington's voters will see a significantly different election system by the 2006 primary, Secretary of State Sam Reed said at yesterday's release of the findings of a task force created by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Reed, joined by Gregoire at her office, talked about more than a dozen steps the state should take to restore voter confidence, including a statewide voter database, audits of local election procedures and an earlier primary.

Gregoire, who returned Wednesday from the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C., said that an acknowledgment of problems in the state does not mean the legitimacy of her win is in question.

"This is simply a recognition that once you put a microscope on the election process in literally any state in this country that you're going to find flaws," she said.

Gregoire said she spoke with Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico over his recent proposal to check voter identification at polling places.

Richardson's plan would require a voter to orally give election officials a name, the last four digits of a Social Security number and a birth year, or else show documentation that could include a photo ID, utility bills, paychecks, government checks or tribal ID.

"I think his approach merits strong consideration in our state," she said.

Gregoire also indicated support for a state House bill that would restore voting rights to felons who have served their time but still owe debts related to their cases.

"Once you served your time, you ought to be able to get back the right to vote," she said. "We can't have a system that says if you can't afford it, you can't vote. Just because you can't afford to pay off a court fine should not preclude you from voting, in my personal opinion."