Supporting Statement A - NVRA Regulations for Voter Registration Application

Supporting Statement A:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

NVRA Regulations for Voter Registration Application

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

Section 802 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (‘‘HAVA’’) transferred the Federal Election Assistance Commission’s (“FEC”) responsibilities (including statutory authority regarding regulations), under the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”) to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (“EAC”). The EAC is proposing new regulations, created pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-7(a).

On July 29, 2009, a notice was published in the Federal Register, stating that the FEC and the EAC jointly took action to transfer regulations implementing NVRA from the FEC to the EAC.

The proposed information collection is necessary as the EAC collects information from the public through the Federal voter registration form.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

The information collected will be used by the EAC in the development and issuance of a Federal voter registration form.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The EAC has made the Federal voter registration form available for download on its website. It can be completed online, and then printed out. In addition, the form can also be printed out and then completed by hand.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

One of the responsibilities transferred to the EAC under Section 802 of HAVA, is the development and maintenance of the Federal voter registration form. The EAC is therefore the only entity that develops and maintains the Federal voter registration form.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

This information collection does not have a significant impact on small businesses or other small entities.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

If the EAC does not collect this information, it may be unable to comply with its statutory requirements under HAVA (42 U.S.C. 15301) and NVRA (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-7(a).

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

There are no special circumstances applicable to this information collection.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency’s notice, required by 5CFR 320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken in response to the comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside DOE.

No prior comments have been solicited, as this is an emergency request, pursuant to 44 USC 3507(j) (1). Furthermore, the EAC intends to solicit comments for the standard three (3) year request.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

The EAC does not provide any payment or gift to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

There is no assurance of confidentiality.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated.

The number of respondents is approximately 10,000,000. The frequency of a response is 1.0 (once, annually). The annual hour burden would be 1,166,667 hours.

This burden was estimated by taking the total number of registrations in the country over the two year period covered by the NVRA Report that is submitted to Congress (approximately 60 million), and dividing that number by 2 to get the annual amount of registrations (approximately 30 million). Once the annual number of registrations was determined, it was then estimated that approximately 1/3 of those registrations were completed using the NVRA form. The final number arrived at for the annual number of responses was 10,000,000.

Subsequently, it was estimated that it takes approximately 7 minutes for a person to fill out a Federal voter registration form. This time was arrived at by estimating the amount of time it takes an individual, of various ability levels, to complete the Federal voter registration form. Taken into account was an individual’s completion of the form through various means, including via electronic means, by hand, through the use of a screen reader, etc.

Using 7 minutes as an estimate, which is 0.11666667 of an hour, it was calculated that the annual time burden is 1,166,667 hours.

13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information.

There is no cost burden associated with this information collection as states would be required to process voter registration applications irrespective of the existence of the proposed EAC regulations.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

This collection does not have a cost to the Federal government.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 (or 14) of OMB Form 83-I.

Not applicable.

16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and publication.

Not applicable.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

Not applicable to this collection.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of OMB Form 83-I.

1. The EAC does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

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