Support_Statement_FVAP_OC_20100915

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Overseas Civilians 1
Section A. JUSTIFICATION
A.1.

UNeed for Information Collection
Primary objectives. The primary objective of the 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of

Overseas Civilians is to identify areas where the electoral process can be improved by providing
an accurate picture of the absentee voting process. Additionally, the data will permit an ongoing
evaluation of the extent to which recent legislative changes have been successful in removing
barriers for absentee voting and will assist in identifying any remaining obstacles to voting by
those populations covered by Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) post-election surveys request
information to determine participation in the electoral process by those populations covered by
UOCAVA. The information collection will help determine: 1) whether voting materials are being
distributed in a timely manner and whether voting assistance is being made available; 2) the
types of obstacles voters encounter when attempting to vote absentee; 3) the impact of FVAP’s
efforts to simplify and ease the process of voting absentee; and 4) any other problems existing
for an absentee voter. FVAP will use the information to prepare a report to the President and
Congress as required by the National Defense Authorization Act. Prior to 2010, the voting
surveys were administered every four (4) years; i.e., immediately after each presidential election.
Beginning in 2010, the surveys will be administered every two years, i.e., immediately after each
national election. A detailed content summary for the current survey can be found in Attachment
1a. This summary highlights the relationships between the research objectives and the specific
items found on the questionnaire.
Legal authorities. The President of the United States designated the Secretary of
Defense to administer the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986
(UOCAVA), 42 USC 1973ff (Attachment 1b), and as modified by the National Defense
Authorization Act of FY 2010 (Attachment 1c). The Act permits members of the Uniformed
Services and Merchant Marine and their eligible family members and all citizens residing

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outside the United States who are absent from the United States and its territories to vote in the
general elections for Federal offices. The 1988 Executive Order 12642 (Attachment 1d) names
the Secretary of Defense as the “Presidential designee” for administering UOCAVA. The
Secretary of Defense in turn delegated this responsibility to the Director of the Federal Voting
Assistance Program in Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 1000.4, Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FVAP) (Attachment 1e), which defines the program’s responsibilities and
authority.

A.2.

Purpose and Use of Information
How and for what purpose information will be used. The respondents for this specific

information collection are Overseas Civilians (OCs), who are U.S. citizens living abroad and not
affiliated with the Federal government. As in prior survey administrations of UOCAVA
populations, these survey data will identify areas where the electoral process can be improved by
providing an accurate picture of the absentee voting process through the perspective of the OCs.
The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), the survey research arm of the Under Secretary
of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, designed the survey questions to capture self-reported
attitudes and behaviors of this population, and will manage the survey data collection for FVAP.
By whom information will be used. The sponsor of the 2010 Post-Election Voting
Survey of Overseas Civilians is the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and
Readiness) (OUSD[P&R]), and the users of the data will be FVAP, the Office of the Secretary of
Defense (OSD), other DoD senior staff and administrators, DMDC, and the Department of State
(DoS).

A.3.

Improved Information Technology
To minimize respondent burden and to capitalize on computer-assisted survey

administration technology, the 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Overseas Civilians will be
conducted entirely online. OCs will be able to complete the survey on the Web by logging onto
the data collection contractor’s secure Web site. Furthermore, to capitalize on e-mail
communication capability, e-mails will be sent to all OCs who are part of the “known subset
1

At the time of the 60-day FRN, the survey was titled the 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Overseas Citizens. The term
“Citizens” was later changed to “Civilians” to better specify this particular UOCAVA population.

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sample” and for whom DoS has a valid e-mail address. These e-mails will explain the purpose of
the survey, invite the selected OCs to participate, and describe how to access the Web site.
Another group of OCs, referred to as the “convenience sample” will gain access to the survey via
a number of sponsored Web sites, such as the DoS Web site, where they will be able to click on
a link that will take them directly to the data collection contractor’s secure Web site. (Section
B.1. defines the “known subset sample” and the “convenience sample” in more detail and
describes the procedural and methodological differences between the two.)

A.4.

Efforts to Identify Duplication
There is no other Federal agency tasked with collecting information specific to all the

populations covered by UOCAVA and designed to evaluate and report on FVAP’s efforts to
simplify the process of voting absentee. The Secretary of Defense, as the “Presidential designee”
under 42 USC 1973ff, designated the Director of FVAP to administer and oversee the Federal
responsibilities of the Act. Presently, the only information of a similar nature available is
information collected by FVAP from surveys of prior elections, with 2008 the most recent
federal election. This information is no longer current and cannot be used to extrapolate to the
upcoming federal election. Without current information, FVAP cannot perform its
responsibilities under the Act.

A.5.

Methods Used to Minimize Burden on Small Entities
The survey respondents for this data collection are the OCs. No data collection is being

conducted with other businesses or establishments.

A.6.

Consequences of Not Collecting the Information
The UOCAVA requires a statistical analysis of absentee voter participation, which

includes uniformed services and overseas nonmilitary populations. To obtain the required
information under UOCAVA to conduct this analysis, surveys need to be administered to OCs.
FVAP is then required to prepare a report to Congress no later than the end of the year after a
federal election. If surveys were not administered, the DoD would not be in compliance with the
law.

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A.7.

Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances. This collection will be conducted in a manner

consistent with guidelines contained in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

A.8.

Agency 60-Day Federal Register Notice and Consultations Outside the Agency
Received comments. An agency 60-Day Federal Notice was published in Vol. 75, No.

25, Monday, February 8, 2010, Federal Register, pages 6184-6185, as required by 5 CFR
1320.8(d). A copy of the 60-Day Federal Notice is included in Attachment 2a. No public
comments were received in response to the notice. In addition, FVAP corresponds regularly
with interested citizens and State and local government officials on UOCAVA-related concerns,
and these discussions informed the survey content.
Consultants and coordinations.
DMDC statisticians and FVAP staff consulted with DoS on matters pertaining to the
administrative database maintained by DoS in order to identify the characteristics of the survey
population by which to make the sample selection.
Coordinations were obtained from Ms. Cindy Allard, OSD/JS Privacy Office, WHS/ESD,
703.588.2386 (Attachment 2b), and Ms. Andrea Zucker, Exempt Determination Official for the
Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Program Integration), Human Research
Protection Program, DHRA, 703.696.7178 (Attachment 2c).

A.9.

Payments to Respondents
No payments or gifts will be provided to OCs for completing the survey.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality
The information collection does not ask respondents to submit propriety, trade secret, or
confidential information to DoD. Though DMDC cannot promise confidentiality to this
population, respondents will be told that the information they provide will be kept private to the
extent permitted by law.

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A.11. Sensitive Questions
The data collection instrument contains no questions of a sensitive nature. The survey
will be non-intrusive and will make it clear that cooperation is voluntary and that responses will
be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Further procedural and methodological details are
provided in Section B.2.

A.12. Estimates of Annual Response Burden and Labor Cost for Hour Burden to the
Respondent for Collection of Information.
Response burden.
Total annual respondents:

16,924 Assumes .15 completion rate

Frequency of response:

1

Total annual responses:

16,924

Burden per response:
Total burden minutes:
Total burden hours:

30 Minutes on average
507,720
8,462

Explanation of how response burden was estimated.
Twenty-five percent of the population (N = 451,312) will be sampled for a sample size
(n) of 112,828. The estimated number of respondents is based on the sample size by the
expected response rate of 15% (112,828 * 0.15 = 16,924). The estimated burden per response
(30 minutes) is based on the burden for previous surveys.
Labor cost to respondent.
Total annual respondents:

16,924 Assumes .15 completion rate

Frequency of response:

1

Total annual responses:

16,924

Burden per response:
Average cost per response:
Total cost:

30 Minutes on average
$9.96 $19.92 *.50 (30 minutes on average ×
hourly rate)
$168,563 Average cost per response ($9.96) ×
expected number of responses (16,924)

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Explanation of how labor cost to respondent was estimated.
The estimated hourly wage used to calculate the average cost per response is the 2010
GS-9/1 hourly rate of $19.92 (excluding any locality adjustment). While there is no clear way to
determine estimated annual earnings for the population of interest (which is most likely quite
varied in occupation and is residing in a large number of countries), a GS-9/1 comprises roughly
a mid-range salary.

A.13. Estimates of Other Cost Burden for the Respondent for Collection of Information.

Total capital and start-up cost. There are no capital/startup costs.
Operation and maintenance cost. There are no operation and maintenance costs. No
outside resources, consultations, or record retrieval are required to answer the survey questions.

A.14. Estimates of Cost to the Federal Government.
a. DMDC Staffing Costs

GS Grade/Step

Annual Rate

25% Fringe

Monthly

FTE Months

Cost

12/1

$74,872

$93,590

$7,799

5

$38,995

13/1

$89,033

$111,291

$9,274

4

$37,097

14/1

$105,211

$131,514

$10,959

4

$43,836

15/1

$123,758

$154,698

$12,891

3

$38,674

Total Cost

$158,602

b. Explanation of How Cost was Estimated. Federal labor costs were estimated using
the GS Salary Table for 2010-DCB which includes a locality payment of 24.22% for the
Washington, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia area. An additional estimated 25% fringe benefit
cost was added based on research available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.2
2

An estimate of 25% as the cost of fringe benefits was taken from a review of two papers available from the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics Website; 1) Report on the American Workforce, U.S. Department of Labor, Elaine L. Chao, Secretary, 2001,
and, 2) “The Growth of fringe benefits: implications for social security” by Yung-Ping Chen.

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c. Additional Costs
Survey contractor operations and maintenance cost

$155,914

(Estimated costs include contractor labor to produce Web-based survey, all data
collection costs, creation of data files and supporting documentation, and data storage.)
On-site contractor support costs

$182,000

(Estimated costs for on-site support contract are based on negotiated rates for similar
services.)
Government staffing costs

$158,602

(Includes sampling and weighting tasks, analysis of basic data set, creation of tab
volume, writing statistical methods reports, contractor technical oversight, contract
administration, consults with FVAP and the Department of State, preparation of the
final internal documents.)
Total Costs

$496,516

A.15. Changes in Burden
Change in burden is due to re-estimation of the number of respondents. In particular to
the OC survey, a purposive sampling technique was used in 2008, but the 2010 survey effort will be
a random sample of a known subset. Furthermore, the 2010 survey also includes a convenience
sample.

A.16. Published Reports and Project Schedule
Published reports. There are currently no plans to publish the results outside the DoD.
Project schedule.
Activity:

Anticipated Date:

Data collection begins

November 3, 2010

Data collection ends

January 11, 2011

Publish methods report

March 10, 2011

Post reports to FVAP Web site

July 1, 2011

Post tabulations to FVAP Web site

June 20, 2011

Post briefings to FVAP Web site

August 23, 2011

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A.17. Approval Not to Display Expiration Date
This approval is not being requested.

A.18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement
No exceptions to the Certification Statement are being requested.

Section B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL
METHODS
B.1.

Description of Potential Respondents
Target population. Under UOCAVA, FVAP will conduct a post-election survey of OCs.

DMDC will conduct the survey construction and data collection process. The population of
interest for the 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Overseas Civilians consists of all American
citizens living overseas, excluding federal civilian employees and members of the U.S. Armed
Forces. Although informal estimates of this population range from five to seven million, neither
the Government nor business maintains a registry or precise count of overseas American
civilians.
Because DoD does not have a sampling frame for this population, DMDC will not be
able to conduct a reasonably budgeted, statistically valid survey of the full target population (i.e.,
statistically valid area samples are possible but clearly cost prohibitive). Instead, DMDC plans
to use results from the combination of (1) a statistically valid survey of a known and identifiable
subset of this population (“known subset sample”) and (2) a convenience sample designed for
accessibility by the full target population (“convenience sample”). Since each of these surveys
has limitations, the 2010 survey incorporates a two-survey methods test to determine whether
estimates for the overseas civilian populations can be successfully calculated.
Known subset sample. The Department of State maintains a registry of overseas
American civilians who register with an embassy. The DoS has slightly more than two million
registries on their records. In 2008, Westat (on behalf of DMDC) attempted to sample from this
population and conduct a Web and a paper-and-pen survey. These efforts resulted in a 5.3%
response rate (see Table 1 below for more detail). DMDC and FVAP consider the 2008 Survey
of Overseas Civilians to have failed due to extremely low response rates.

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Table 1. 2008 - Sample Size by Case Disposition Categories
Case Disposition
Category and (Code Value)

Sample
Size

Total

10,687

Frame Ineligible

6

Ineligible Response
Self/Proxy-report (2)
Survey Self report (3)

861
121

Eligible Response
Complete (4)
Incomplete (5)

577
34

Unknown eligibility

5

Refused/Deployed/Other (8)

3

Postal Non-Delivery (10)

2,343

Non-respondents (11)

6,737

Over 20% of the 2008 surveys never reached their intended recipient due to postal nondelivery. Since postal mailings to most countries still encounter large delays and failed
deliveries, and since the postal mailing process was very burdensome to the DoS, the 2010 PostElection Voting Survey of Overseas Civilians will eliminate the paper-and-pen component.
For 2010, DoS will create the sampling frame from embassy and consulate registration
records of civilians living or traveling overseas who voluntarily register either online (through
the Internet Based Registration System) or in-person (with a U.S. embassy or consulate in the
overseas country). Registration records are generally used only to reach Americans in case of an
emergency or to notify them of a security threat against U.S. civilians in the country where they
are living. Unlike the 2008 survey, DoS has attempted to limit the ‘registration’ frame to
American civilians, adults, civilians with email address, and civilians on planned long-term stays
(e.g., people traveling abroad for a week would be considered ineligible for this data collection
effort and would not be included on the survey frame). These restrictions in the sampling frame
should reduce the 65 percent ineligibility rate from the 2008 survey, where these restrictions
were not implemented due to timing and workload issues. The restricted registrations are more
likely to be recent and contain better contact information. Specifically, DMDC plans to select a

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systematic sample of 25 percent of the 451,312 records on DoS’s registration file (total number
or registrants 18 years or older as of November 2, 2010 with an email address), yielding a sample
size of 112,828. Prior to selecting the sample, the DoS will sort the file by country of
registration. This sampling plan creates a proportional allocation of the sample to each country.
The total sample size (~112,000) was based upon precision requirements for the key
reporting domain, country. The precision goal was a confidence interval of ±5 percentage points
at the 95% precision level. To achieve this level of precision, a total of approximately 400
completed surveys were needed for each country. Because DMDC has never used this exact
frame before, some assumptions were required during sampling. Due to the restrictions in the
frame, DMDC assumed that eligibility and contact rates would be much higher than in 2008,
about 75 percent each, and that the cooperation rate overall would be approximately 25 percent.
This results in about a 15 percent overall response rate and requires a sample of about 2,700
overseas civilians to produce 400 completed surveys in each country where estimates are
desired. The goal is to produce estimates for the 30 to 40 largest countries (by registered
civilians) and an estimate for all other countries within each of five world regions (Africa, East
Asia/Pacific, Europe, Northeast and South Central Asia, and Western Hemisphere).
DoS registration records have the following limitations as a sampling frame for the
survey:
1. Registration records have limited coverage of overseas civilians because many
overseas civilians do not register.
2. Registration coverage varies by geographic region (e.g., relatively complete coverage
in Africa and far less complete coverage in European countries or Canada).
3. Although DoS attempted to clean their registries for DMDC’s survey purposes, the
registration records still may include persons not eligible for the current survey. For
example, the registries may include the names of minors, non-civilians, and persons
no longer living overseas who did not notify the embassy that they had returned to the
United States.
4. Registration records contain different types of contact information. Some contain
only postal addresses. E-mail addresses are available for only a subset of registrants
because the DoS did not begin collecting that information for U.S. citizen registrants
until 2000.

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Despite these known limitations, the registration lists are considered the best source for
building a sample frame and drawing a probability sample of overseas adult Americans. The
frame, then, was said to include (but is not restricted to) overseas adult American civilians who
registered at an embassy or consulate. Registration information collected by the DoS (i.e., name
and address) is protected by the Privacy Act and not available to DMDC or its data collection
contractor. As a result, all processing of information, frame assembly, sample selection, and
respondent emailing will be performed exclusively by the DoS.
Convenience sample. In addition to the aforementioned procedural difficulties
associated with sampling the overseas civilian population, estimates from the ‘registered’ subset
of the population are likely biased. Overseas civilians who are registered with their embassy or
consulate (hereafter written as “embassy”) are likely very different from civilians who do not
register. For example, registered civilians may have greater attachment to the United States and
vote at higher rates than those not registered. This issue is further compounded by the fact that
for the planned 2010 statistical sample, DMDC will sample from an even smaller subset than the
2008 survey: only overseas American civilians with email addresses on file. Civilians with
email addresses may be very different from those without email addresses. For example,
civilians with email may have registered more recently, be more technologically oriented,
younger, or have other characteristics related to completing a Web survey, using the Web to
order Federal Postcard Applications (FPCA) or using FVAP’s Web site. Due to the potentially
severe coverage bias, it is expected that a survey alone of this subset of the population has little
utility for making estimates representing overseas civilians. Thus, in addition to the previously
described “known subset” sample, DMDC will also conduct a convenience sample.
A suitable use for estimates from this convenience sample could be for trending
purposes. If the survey can produce cross-sectional estimates showing that a higher percentage
of respondents than the prior period accessed FVAP’s Website, rated it positively, or received
voting help from the embassy, FVAP may be confident that their programs are working for this
population even if the underlying survey estimates are biased. However, an equally important
use of these survey data is to assess the data quality from the proposed convenience sample that
is accessible to all overseas civilians with Web access, a much larger subset of the overseas
population. Convenience samples have strong, well-documented limitations with the largest
negative aspect being an inability to assess or correct for nonresponse bias. The self-selected

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sample may have very different characteristics from the target population, and because little is
known about the respondents (and nonrespondents), results from the survey can be misleading.
DMDC’s goal is to ask two questions of the convenience sample to create estimates for
the same population subset as the statistical sample. These questions are: (1) “On November 2,
2010, were you registered with the embassy or consulate in this country?” and (2) “Did you
provide an email address to the embassy or consulate where you registered?” From the answers
to these two questions, we can create estimates from the convenience sample for the following
three distinct subsets of overseas Americans: (1) Overseas civilians not registered with an
embassy, (2) Overseas civilians registered with an embassy but do not have an email address on
file, and (3) Overseas civilians registered with an embassy, and have an email address on file.
From the convenience sample, we will produce estimates for population number three, or
the same subset of the population covered by the statistical sample (i.e., those registered with an
embassy and have an email address on file). If both surveys produce similar estimates for this
population, FVAP may consider the estimates from the convenience sample for populations 1
and 2 sufficient for policy purposes. However, if the statistical sample and the convenience
sample produce very different estimates, it can be concluded that the convenience sample
estimates are biased due to self-selection. However, even though biased, these estimates again
may have some utility for assessing trends in the data.

B.2.

Procedures for the Collection of Information
Known subset sample recruitment and data collection procedures. Survey

administration will begin on November 03, 2010, the day after the national election, and will last
approximately six (6) weeks. Because mailing notification letters and paper survey forms
internationally was expensive and fraught with problems in 2008, survey members will be
contacted only by email for the 2010 administration. The DoS could not share protected contact
information (e.g., registrant names, postal addresses, and e-mail addresses) with other members
of the research team. Consequently, all mailing operations (e-mail) will be performed at the DoS
office in Washington, DC.
An announcement e-mail will be sent on November 03, 2010 informing the OCs that data
collection has started and inviting them to participate (Attachment 3a). Throughout the field
period, four follow-up thank you/reminder e-mails (Attachment 3b) will be sent by DoS. These

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communications remind sampled individuals of the survey and ask them to complete/submit the
Web-based. Thank you/reminders will be sent to all sample members because the DoS email
system does not allow the DoD to indentify who has responded to the survey. All emails will be
under the signature of Janice Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. The
survey invitations and thank you/reminders include a hyperlink to the survey Web site and a
general (i.e., non-unique) Ticket Number for logging on to the survey. Once a survey participant
logs on with the general Ticket Number and opens the Welcome screen, the program will
generate a unique Ticket Number. The respondent will be instructed to keep a record of their
assigned, unique ticket number in the event they leave the survey before completing/submitting
it and wish to return at a later time. In that case, the respondent will be required to enter their
unique Ticket Number to get back into the survey.
Data collection. Data collection for the known subset sample will be Web only. Though
the final Web-based survey instrument has not yet been programmed, the content will be the
same as that presented in Attachment 4a. The survey includes a few initial screening questions
to ensure eligibility. For example, if Q. 1 (“Were you a U.S. citizen on November 2, 2010?”) or
Q. 4 (“On November 2, 2010, did you live outside the U.S.?”) is answered “No,” or if
respondents indicate at Q. 2 they are “17 years of age or younger,” they are skipped to the end of
the survey.
When respondents log on to the Web site using the general Ticket number to complete
the on-line instrument, they will be directed to a set of Web screens, starting with the
“Welcome” screen (Attachment 5a). From there they can view the “Frequently Asked
Questions” screen (Attachment 5b) and the “Security Protection Advisory”3 screen (Attachment
5c). The Advisory for the survey program informs visitors to the Web site that no information
on the person's computer or Internet connection is collected in a way it can be associated with
the person or the survey responses. Respondents are then directed to the “Agency Disclosure
Notice” (ADN) and the “Privacy Advisory Statement and Informed Consent Information” screen
(Attachment 5d). This screen includes the instruction "Click 'Continue' if you agree to do the
survey" and informed consent is indicated by clicking the "Continue" button and answering the

3

Because the data are collected on a Web site, the Web site is required to include Security Protection Advisory
information according to the Office of the Secretary of Defense Policy for Establishing and Maintaining a Publicly
Accessible Department of Defense Web Information Service (dated July 18, 1997; updated January 9, 1998).

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survey questions. The data collection procedures are not expected to involve any risk to
participants. Neither names nor email addresses are provided to DMDC or to DMDC’s data
collection contractor by DoS, and it will not be possible to keep a record of who responded to the
survey and who did not.
The data collection contractor converts raw data files to SAS datasets according to
specifications written by DMDC. Datasets are then transmitted to DMDC via secure file transfer
protocol. DMDC then creates a report for FVAP of the survey responses in subgroup categories
and percentages (weighted to reflect the population). FVAP then further analyzes the data and
prepares a report to the President and the Congress.
Convenience sample recruitment and data collection procedures. Recruitment of OCs
to participate in the survey as part of the convenience sample is described in Section B.4 below.
However, once the survey participants log onto the data collection contractor’s secure survey
Web site, they will go through the same Ticket Numbering and data collection procedures as
other OC survey participants. The wording of the screens they will open and view (“Welcome”
screen [Attachment 6a], “Security Protection Advisory” screen [Attachment 6b], “Agency
Disclosure Notice/Privacy Advisory Statement and Informed Consent Information” screen
[Attachment 6c], “Frequently Asked Questions” screen [Attachment 6d]) will vary only slightly
from the comparable screens viewed by the OCs participating as part of the “known subset”
sample. The survey itself is identical.
The set of Ticket Numbers the data collection contractor’s program creates for those
survey participants who are part of the convenience sample will systematically vary from those
the program creates for the survey participants who are part of the “known subset” sample. The
program is able to make this differentiation because it will be able to determine if the respondent
logged onto the survey via an external Web site (convenience sample) or logged on to the survey
directly via the contractor’s link. See Section B. 3 (Encouraging response). In this manner,
DMDC will be able to track the number of completed surveys for each of the two samples, and
the contractor will be able to create two separate databases.
Data security. The current survey does not collect or use personally identifiable
information and data are not retrieved by personal identifier. Therefore, the information
collected is not subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. DMDC will report only
aggregate data in the form of statistical summaries.

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DMDC’s and the data collection contractor’s network sites are secure and password
protected. Security is strictly enabled by using physical and software access restrictions. All
servers are physically located in locked rooms with access permitted only to Technical Services
staff through the use of a security card system. Access to the network is allowed only through a
login account and password. In addition, employees use password protected screen savers at
workstations to protect their systems while they are away from their desks. At DMDC, the
network is accessed through the use of Common Access Card (CAC) readers and utilizes Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) security. Logging on to the network requires both physical possession
of the CAC and a separately issued Personal Identification Number. All computer systems
comply with current Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) security standards.
The survey contractor makes daily backup tapes that are stored for five (5) years in fire
proof vaults located within a security-card protected area, and all provisions dealing with the
protection of human subjects and data security are in force for as long as the contractor retains
any protected data.
Weighting. The 2008 survey results were not weighted due to poor response rates and
concerns about nonresponse bias (the survey estimates were not used). DMDC will weight
(post-stratify) the “known subset” sample survey by country of registration, age of registration
(i.e., when the frame member registered), and gender. The results of this survey, as opposed to
the convenience sample survey, will generalize to Americans living overseas who are registered
with an embassy and have an email address on file. The survey results do not generalize to all
American overseas civilians. Although the survey results do not generalize to all American
Overseas civilians, we may create an additional research set of weights where a key poststratification variable is the estimated (by DoS) proportion of overseas civilians in foreign
countries, rather than counts of registered civilians. For the convenience sample, we plan to
post-stratify by the same set of variables as the “known subset” survey.
Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling. No unusual problems that would
require specialized sampling are anticipated.
Use of periodic data collection cycles to reduce burden. This request is for a single
collection, and therefore it cannot be reduced further.

B.3.

Non-response, Maximization to Response Rates, and Accuracy and Reliability

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Encouraging response. To maximize response rates for the OCs who comprise the
“known subset survey,” an announcement e-mail will be sent the day after Election Day
(Wednesday, November 03, 2010), explaining the survey and informing the OCs data collection
has started. Throughout the approximate 10-week field period, the OCs will be sent four (4)
reminder e-mails thanking those who have already responded, and encouraging non-respondents
to log onto the Web site and complete the survey.
To reach out to, and to encourage participation from, OCs who would comprise the
convenience sample, a number of Web sites will be selected, in consultation with FVAP and
DoS, that may be frequented by U.S. civilians living outside the United States; e.g., the DoS
Web site, Websites of the individual embassies, FVAP’s Web site, etc. Many of the individual
embassies’ Web sites are currently running a short announcement, with FVAP’s logo, reminding
U.S. civilians of the Federal mid-term general elections and hosting a link to FVAP. This will
serve as the model for announcing the OC survey, encouraging participation, and providing a
link to the data collection contractor’s secure survey Web site. Of course, the more Web sites
that announce the survey, the more potential convenience sample completes will be collected.
DMDC will work with FVAP and DoS to identify as many Web sites as is feasible. The timing
of the field period for the convenience sample will mirror as closely as possible that of the
known subset sample, but no Web site will post the announcement of the survey prior to the day
of the election.
Analysis of survey non-response. Both DMDC and OMB are concerned with general
declining response rates in the survey industry. To address this concern, OMB issued standards and
guidelines for federal statistical surveys requiring that, for any survey with a response rate below 80
percent, survey agencies conduct a non-response analysis. Due to the DoD’s experience surveying

this very difficult population in 2008, we expect high levels of survey nonresponse in 2010.
Data from the DoS on registries of Overseas Civilians is privacy act protected, and DoS can only
provide limited aggregated data that will assist the DoD with survey weighting. To limit the
impact of survey nonresponse on estimates from this voting survey, the DoD will weight the
survey data using direct post-stratification to frame counts provided by DoS. The DoD has
requested from the DoS sample frame counts by region (Africa, East Asia/Pacific, Europe,
Northeast and South Central Asia, and Western Hemisphere), country, gender, age of registration
(i.e., when the frame member registered). The DoD will analyze these data to determine whether

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sample members from these subgroups respond at different rates to the email-contact survey, and
whether respondents differ on key variables of interest (e.g., voting behavior).

B.4.

Tests of Procedures
DMDC utilizes best practices in its design of Web-based surveys (e.g., visual

presentation of questions and response options, usability and interactive elements, use of color,
font style and size, and screen layout). These features of Web-based data collection, in addition
to automated skip logic, serve to ease the burden on the respondents, increase data quality, and
minimize response error. Similarly, and pertinent to the “known subset” sample, DMDC has
incorporated a number of randomized experiments into its surveys over the past several years
testing such conditions as number and wording of letters and emails, timing of respondent
contacts, presence or absence of a brochure, sponsorship, and subject line text. Because of these
experiments, DMDC has developed field procedures grounded in experience and empirical
findings. In addition to these tests and experiments, DMDC conducted the 2008 Post-Election
Voting Survey of Overseas Civilians and has made revisions to the survey content and format as
a result.
DMDC establishes a schedule of deliverables and the operations contractor provides
reports on progress according to the schedule. DMDC ensures the sample is statistically sound,
representative, and consistent with past reports. The operations contractor performs quality
control checks on assembly of survey packages, address lists and data input.

B.5.

Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Consulting and/or

Analyzing Data
FVAP Principal Investigators: Robert Carey
Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program
W: 703-588-8118
C: 703-485-5022
[email protected]
FVAP Program Analyst: Allan White
W: 703-588-8112

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[email protected]
DoS Chief Voting Action Officer: Jack Markey
W: 202-736-4937
[email protected]
DoS Deputy Voting Action Officer: Mark Raugust
W: 202-736-9163
[email protected]
DMDC Principal Investigator: Dr. Timothy Elig (703-696-5858)
DMDC Survey Statisticians:






David McGrath (703-696-2675)
Dr. Fawzi Al Nassir (703-696-5825)
Eric Falk (703-696-8960)
Owen Hung (703-696-1343)
Dorothy Kester Jackman (703-696-5839)

DMDC Analysts:





Robert Tinney (703-696-6765)
Ada Harris (703-696-6761)
Laverne Wright (703-696-5833)
Kristin Williams (703-696-8106)

DMDC Survey Reviewer: Dr. Robert Simmons (703-696-8961)
Survey Operations Contractor: Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) (800-826-2368):
Contact person: Valerie Waller (763.268.2166)

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