The ongoing process of improving AmericaÂs election systems relies in part on having accurate data about the way Americans cast their ballots. In 2002 through the Help America Vote Act, Congress chartered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to collect information on the state of American elections and make it widely available to policy makers, advocates, scholars, journalists and the general public. Since 2004, the Commission has sponsored an Election Day Survey (here referred to as the Election Administration and Voting Survey) as its primary tool for fulfilling that mission. The questions contained in the survey ask for information about ballots cast; voter registration; overseas and military voting; Election Day activities; voting technology; and other important issues. Many of these questions are mandated by the Help America Vote Act and other federal laws (such as the National Voter Registration Act and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act), while other questions were included at the request of the research community or policy makers.
The proposed information collection is necessary to meet requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301). HAVA §241 requires the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to study and report on election activities, practices, policies, and procedures, including methods of voter registration, methods of conducting provisional voting, poll worker recruitment and training, and such other matters as the Commission determines are appropriate. In addition, HAVA §802 transferred to the EAC the Federal Election CommissionÂs responsibility of biennially administering a survey on the impact of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-1 et seq.). The information the States are required to submit to the EAC for purposes of the NVRA report are found under Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations (11 CFR 8.7).
HAVA §703(a) also amended §102 the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act (UOCAVA) (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1) by requiring that Ânot later than 90 days after the date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, each State and unit of local government which administered the election shall (through the State, in the case of a unit of local government) submit a report to the Election Assistance Commission (established under the Help America Vote Act of 2002) on the combined number of absentee ballots transmitted to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters for the election and the combined number of such ballots which were returned by such voters and cast in the election, and shall make such a report available to the general public.Â
Additionally, in December 2007, Congress authorized the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008. Public Law 110-161 authorized the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to award $10 million in grants to States to implement a data collection program for Federal elections scheduled to be held in November 2008. The information being sought for the grant program is connected to the 2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey.
In order for states to configure their database systems to query the data being requested as part of the 2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey and $10 million grant program, state and local election officials need the final version of the survey as soon as possible. It is on this basis that the EAC requests that the OMB Clearance process be expedited and that the next phase of public comment be waived.
While this year's collection should be easier for states to engage due to multiple modes for providing the data and the intensive technical assistance being offered to states, the increase in burden between 2006 and 2008 is due, in part, to requests for clarification of information as indicated in the public comments and EACÂs assessment of the utility of having the additional information. In some instances this necessitated the addition of questions to the instrument. Although states should be quite familiar with most of the information being requested since many of the questions are similar to those appearing in previous iterations of the survey, EAC wanted to allow extra time for states to understand, process, and collect the data related to the new items.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
2008 EDS - Supporting Statement B 082608.doc
2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey