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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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