Supporting Statement - 0706

Supporting Statement for the

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

OMB No. 0960-0706

1. Justification

1. Introduction/Authoring Laws and Regulations

On October 29, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law House Rule (H.R.) 3295, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA; later Public Law 107‑252), which mandates that states must verify the identities of newly registered voters. Section 303 of H.R. 3295 specifies an area requiring the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) involvement. Specifically, when newly registered voters do not have driver’s licenses or state-issued identification (ID) cards, they must supply the last four digits of their Social Security numbers (SSN) to their local state election agencies for verification. The election agencies forward the new registrant candidates’ names; dates of birth (DOB); and the last four digits of their SSNs to the candidates’ state Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). The state MVAs input and route the data to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) as a consolidation point for data transfer. AAMVA forwards the transactions to SSA’s Help America Vote Verification (HAVV) system. Once SSA’s HAVV system verifies if the information provided is a “match” or “no match,” the information returns along the same route (in reverse) until it reaches the state election agency. The legal authority for HAVA are Sections 205(r)(8) and 1106 of the Social Security Act, as amended.

2. Description of Collection

SSA verifies the information provided by the state election agencies for newly registered voters who do not have a driver’s license or State ID card. Ultimately, the State election agencies use this information to ensure that the people registering to vote may legally do so.

Specifically, individuals registering to vote must provide their driver’s license number to their state election agency. If they have no driver’s license or state‑issued ID card, they must supply the last four digits of their SSN. The state election agency forwards the new registration candidate’s name, DOB, and the last four digits of the individual’s SSN to the state MVA. SSA requires state MVAs to use AAMVA as a consolidation point for data transfer. The MVA inputs this data, routing the applicant’s information to the AAMVA network hub. AAMVA forwards the transaction to SSA’s HAVV system. SSA’s HAVV system returns the result (a “match” or “no match” of name, DOB, and last four digits of an SSN) to the AAMVA hub, which then routes the information back to the state MVA. The MVA sends the results to the state election agency.

SSA does not collect individual identifying information during these transactions. The HAVV system only verifies the accuracy of the information provided using the following response codes:

Response Code	Definition
S	Invalid Data
T	Multi Matches All Deceased
V	Multi Matches All Alive
W	Multi Matches Mixed
X	Single Match Alive
Y	Single Match Deceased
Z	No Match Found
9	System Error:  Unable to Process at this Time

The respondents are the State MVAs seeking to confirm voter identities.

3. Use of Information Technology to Collect the Information

In accordance with the agency’s Government Paperwork Elimination Act plan, SSA created a fillable, fileable, and signable Internet version of HAVA. Based on our data, we estimate 100% of respondents under this OMB number use the electronic version.

4. Why We Cannot Use Duplicate Information

The nature of the information we collect and the manner in which we collect it preclude duplication. SSA does not use another collection instrument to obtain similar data.

5. Minimizing Burden on Small Respondents

This collection does not affect small businesses or other small entities.

6. Consequence of Not Collecting Information or Collecting it Less Frequently

If SSA did not verify the identities of newly registered voters, we would be in violation of the HAVA legislation. Because we only collect the information on an as needed basis, we cannot collect it less frequently. There are no technical or legal obstacles to burden reduction.

7. Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances that would cause SSA to conduct this information collection in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. Solicitation of Public Comment and Other Consultations with the Public

The 60-day advance Federal Register Notice published on November 4, 2020 at 85 FR 70216, and we received no public comments. The 30-day FRN published on February 4, 2021 at 86 FR 8246. If we receive any comments in response to this Notice, we will forward them to OMB.

9. Payment or Gifts to Respondents

SSA does not provide payments or gifts to the respondents.

9. Assurances of Confidentiality

SSA protects and holds confidential the information it collects in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1306, 20 CFR 401 and 402, 5 U.S.C. 552 (Freedom of Information Act), 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act of 1974), and OMB Circular No. A-130.

9. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The information collection does not contain any questions of a sensitive nature.

9. Estimates of Public Reporting Burden

Please see the burden chart below:

Modality of Completion	Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Number of Responses	Average Burden Per Response (minutes)	Estimated Total Annual Burden (hours)	Average Theoretical Hourly Cost Amount (dollars)*	Total Annual Opportunity Cost (dollars)**
HAVV	48	87,332	4,191,936	2	139,731	$17.51*	$2,446,690**

* We based this figure on average local government information and records clerk’s hourly wages, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistic’s data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes434199.htm).

** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather, these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the application.

The total burden for this information collection request is 139,731 hours (reflecting SSA management information data), which results in associated theoretical (not actual) opportunity cost financial burden of $2,446,690. SSA does not charge respondents to complete our applications. We base our burden estimates on current management information data, which includes data from actual interviews, as well as from years of conducting this information collection. Per our management information data, we believe that 2 minutes accurately shows the average burden per response for reading the instructions, gathering the facts, and answering the questions. Based on our current management information data, the current burden information we provided is accurate.

13. Annual Cost to the Respondents (other)

Per our current MI data, the 48 state MVAs participating in HAVA each pay an annual maintenance cost of $4,400. Additionally, states pay .05 cents per verification request. Therefore, the total cost to respondents is $420,797.

13. Annual Cost to the Federal Government

This collection does not pose a recognizable cost to the Federal Government, because we bill states (via AAMVA) for using our HAVV system. The cost to the respondents covers the entirety of the systems development, updating, and maintenance costs for the HAVV system, so the Federal Government has no additional annual costs.

13. Program Changes or Adjustments to the Information Collection Budget

When we last cleared this IC in 2017, the burden was 164,603 hours. However, we are currently reporting a burden of 139,731 hours. This change stems from a decrease in the number of responses from 4,938,096 to 4,191,936. There is no change to the burden time per response. Although the number of responses changed, SSA did not take any actions to cause this change. The increase in the cost to the MVA respondents is due to changes in our accounting for this ICR. These figures represent current Management Information data.

13. Plans for Publication Information Collection Results

SSA will not publish the results of the information collection.

17. Displaying the OMB Expiration Date

SSA is not requesting an exception to the requirement to display the OMB approval expiration date.

17. Exceptions to Certification Statement

SSA is not requesting an exception to the certification requirements at 5 CFR 1320.9 and related provisions at 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

2. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

SSA does not use statistical methods for this information collection.