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TheElectionCenterMay2007
ProfessionalElectionsAdministratorsRespondtoH.R.811
Introduction:Themembershipand
LegislativeCommitteeofthenationalElectionCenter(NationalAssociationofElectionOfficials)have
beeninregularcontactwithmembersoftheHouseAdministrationCommitteeand
theirstaffinanefforttoaddressCongressionalconcernswithregardtothe
electoralprocessin
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ournation.Indoingso,electionadministrators
aswellasstateandlocalgovernmentorganizations havecautionedtheCommittee
againstrushedreformthatcouldnegativelyimpactthetimely,orderly,andaccurateconduct
ofthe2008federalelections.Despitethoseefforts,wecontinuetohaveseriousconcernsaboutthebillinitscurrentform.
THEGUIDELINESAND
REQUIREMENTSINH.R.
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811AREOVERLYPRESCRIPTIVE
There
isnovotingsystemcurrentlycertifiedandinusethatmeetsthe
veryspecificrequirementsproposedinthebill.Noraretheresuchsystemsavailable
inthemarketthathavebeenorcanbeappropriatelytestedandcertifiedforusethroughtheEACVotingSystemCertificationProgramby2008.
Thebillreferences a
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requirementforstatecertificationofvotingequipment
thatmaynotexist--repeatedlyreferencingan"appropriateelectionofficial"tomake
certificationdecisions.Manystatesdonotcurrentlyhavesuchcertificationprocessesinplace.
Fundingsuch astatefunctioniscostly--upto$1millionperyear,asisseeninGeorgiawithitsKennesawCertificationprogrambudget.States
willneedto
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designateanappropriateofficial,designateauthority,set
up acertificationprogramandfundit.Todothiswiththeappropriate
leveloftransparency,oversightandsecurityin astatethatcurrentlyhasnocertification
processwilltakeuptotwoyearstoestablish.
Useofwirelesstechnologyprohibited.Thiswouldeliminatetheuseofelectronicpollbooks,
whichmakesearly
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votingandvotecenterspossible.Theend
resultofthistypeofprescriptiveandprohibitivelanguageis adecreasein
voteraccessibilityandiscontrarytothetitleofthebill.The
manualaudits,assumingprofessionalauditorsarerequiredorselectedtodothecounting,willcostmorethan$2billion.That,combinedwiththe$
4billionestimated
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forthetextconversiondevices,is asum
equaltoanamountgreaterthanwhathasbeenallocatedtodate
fortheHelpAmericaVoteAct--$6billioninitiallyandongoingcosts
of$2billionperyearforeachfederalelectioninthefuture.May20071of4
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TalkingPointsonHR811Election
OfficialsLegislativeCommittee
H.R.811SEVERELYLIMITSOPTIONSFORCOMPLIANCEAND
FAILSTORECOGNIZEDIFFERENCESFROMSTATE-TO-STATEORJURISDICTION-TO-JURISDICTION.Existingmodels,demonstrated
in arealworldelectionenvironment,thatarealreadyinplaceoffermoreefficientandeffectivemeansofmeetingobjectives.Theoverlyprescriptivenatureof
theproposedaudit
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processeliminatesexistingprogramsdesignedtoincrease
accessibilitytovotingandaddsunnecessaryandadministrativeburdensin aonesize
fitsallapproachtoanelectionprocessthatbydesign,isdecentralizedand
variesgreatlyfromonejurisdictiontothenext.Theproposedrequirementformanual,handcountingofthevoterverifiablepaperballotscastonDirect
RecordingElectronicvoting
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systemswilltakeweeks--andevenmore
than amonthinsomejurisdictions.Thisisbasedonactualexperienceand
numbersfromjurisdictionswhohavedemonstratedwhatisinvolvedindoingso.Alternatives/Solutions:
Rewritelegislationtofocuson asetofcommonobjectivesapplicabletoallfederalelections.Define aprocessandmechanismbywhichstatesandlocalgovernmentscan
demonstrateandcertify
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compliancewithoutprescribingthespecificmethodsfor
doingso.Thisapproachwillresultinachievingworkablesolutionsthatbetter
servevotersanddemocracy.
UNREASONABLEAUDITINGPROTOCOLS
Auditsofelections
arebetterachievedbyfollowingmodelsofprovenauditproceduresthatarealreadyexistentinmanystates.Theproposednumbersofballotscountedunder
theauditprovisions
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areunreasonableandinconsistentwithauditingprotocols.
Theassignedpercentagesarenotstatisticallyrelevanttotheobjectivesassociatedwith
conductingaudits.Thebillmandatesanimpossibleeffectivedateforimplementationin
stateswherenosuchauditfunctionexists,andwhichwouldneedtocreate,fromthegroundup,anentirelynewstatefunctioncompletewithappropriate
staff,overhead,and
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andrecountscouldbecompromised.Whentwo
differentgroupsarehandlingandresponsibleforvotedballots,itbecomesimpossible
toverifyifintentionalorunintentionalbreachesinballotsecurityhaveoccurred.Alternatives/Solutions:
Utilizesuccessfulmodelsofstatesthatalreadyhaveauditproceduresthatclearlydemonstratethatsimplifiedauditingprocessescanverifythat
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TalkingPointsonHR811Election
OfficialsLegislativeCommittee
ballotsarebeingcountedaccuratelybybothtechnology
andbyhumans.Broadlystatethepurposeandobjectivesoftheauditand
allowstatesandlocalgovernmentstodemonstratecompliance.
UNATTAINABLEEFFECTIVEDATES
Insufficienttimetoensureeffectiveimplementation.Thetimelinefor2008
implementationisunattainable
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basedonfederalguidelineswithrespectto
theEACVotingSystemCertificationProgramandVoluntaryVotingSystemGuidelines(VVSG
I).CompliantvotingsystemsunderHR811arelimited;DREsystemsthat
wouldcomplydonotexistatall.Ballotconversionequipmentandsoftwaretomeetthedisabilityaccessrequirementshasnotbeentestedorcertifiedfor
usewithany
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existingvotingsystem.Failstorecognize
timeframesforstateplanning,standardsetting,productdevelopment,certification,procurement,delivery,storage,
acceptancetesting,etc.Failstorecognizetheneedforpublicoutreachand
educationassociatedwithnewvotingequipmentandproceduresFailstorecognizetheimpactonearly2008PresidentialPrimaries.Implementationdateafterthe2008
PresidentialElectionis
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morepractical.Alternatives/Solutions:CongresspassedHAVAand
clearlyunderstoodthatitwaspotentiallydisastroustoimplementmajorchangesin
electionsduring aPresidentialElectionyear.Congressalsopreviouslydemonstratedthatitisbetter
tospreadchangesoversixoreightyearsratherthantryingtoforcechangesintooshort atimeperiod.Phaseinchangesover aperiodof
yearsbeginningin
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isestimatedatupto$4
billionfornationwideimplementation.Votingequipmentcompliantwiththisveryspecificand
prescriptiverequirementdoesnotexisttodayandprobablywillnotexistuntilat
theearliest2012-2016.JimDickson,lobbyistforAmericanAssociationofPeoplewithDisabilities,haspubliclystatedthattheAAPDandotherdisabilitygroupsopposethe
HoltBillon
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TalkingPointsonHR811Election
OfficialsLegislativeCommittee
Thebillallocates$1billionfor
itsimplementation,whileestimatesforaccessibilitydevicesalonereachfarmorethan$
1billion.ThisdoesnotevenaddressthematterofnewVVPATequipment,ornewstatefunctionsforauditingandcertificationofvotingequipment.Alternatives/Solutions:
Relyonstates
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tofindworkablesolutionswhichcanbe
lesscostlythantheoverlyprescriptivemandatesofHR811andtosubmit
thoseintheformofStatePlanswhicharepublishedineachstate.
Makechangeswithintheexistingframeworkandeliminatecreatingnewbureaucracieswithnoexperienceinelections.Directpaperaudittrailsbutwithexistingequipmentrather
thanmandatingequipment
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changesthatarenotusedinthe
currentmarket.Understandthetruecostsofmandatesandbepreparedto
fundannualbudgetsforaninitial$3billionandadditionalcostsin
excessofanadditional$2billionineachfederalelectionyear.
UNINTENDEDCONSEQUENCES
Itappearsthatpassageofthebillwill
likelyresultin
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theendofearlyvotinginurban
areas.Torequirepaperballotsatearlyvotingsitesinsufficientquantities
toaddresspotentialvotingsystemdowntimewouldmeanhundredsandeventhousands
ofballotstylesineachearlyvotinglocation renderingitalmostimpossibletoorganizeandsecure.DREsarenecessaryinurbanareastoserve
votersfromanywhere
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within acountywhowishtovoteat
anearlyvotinglocation.[Adifferentballotstyleiscreatedwhenever
anyoneraceorissuechangeson aballot,whichcreates anewballotstyle
.Inlargeurbanareasthiscanbe1100ballotstylesormore.]Itappearsthatpassagewouldbringanalmostimmediateend
totheVote
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Centerconceptforthesamereasonsin
theearlyvotingsection,furtherlimitingvoteraccess.Significantballotprinting
anddeliveryproblemsforopticalscanballotsoccurredin2002,2004and2006.
ForcinghugeincreasesinlocalgovernmentsrelianceonprintedballotsanddistributionvendorsislikelytocreateballotshortagesalloverAmericaforatleast
2008andprobably
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for2010duetoballotprintingcapacity.
Thebillestablishes aPrivateRightofAction.Simplyput,thiswill
putelectionsintothehandsofthelawyersandthecourts.Thelanguage
isoverlybroadandwillslowdowntheprocessofdeterminingelectionresultsandsubjectlocalgovernmentstospendmillionsofdollarsonpoliticallymotivated
lawsuits.Alternatives/Solutions:Take
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moretimetounderstandthecomplexitiesof
theelectionprocessandlistentotheprofessionalsineachstateand
CongressionalDistrict.Doingsowillresultinbetterlegislation.Ratherthanleadingto a
potentialelectiondisaster, abetterprocesswillevolvewhichbetterservesvotersand,bydoingso,willbetterservedemocracy.
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