Proposed Information Collection-2010 Election Administration and Voting Survey; Comment Request, 46120-46122 [E9-21592]

Agencies

• Election Assistance Commission

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46120-46122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21592]


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ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Proposed Information Collection--2010 Election Administration and 
Voting Survey; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, EAC announces an information collection and 
seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. The EAC, pursuant to 5 
CFR 1320.5(a)(iii), intends to submit this proposed information 
collection (2010

[[Page 46121]]

Election Administration and Voting Survey) to the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget for approval. The 2010 Election 
Administration and Voting Survey (Survey) asks election officials 
questions concerning voting and election administration. These 
questions request information concerning ballots cast; voter 
registration; overseas and military voting; Election Day activities; 
voting technology; and other important issues. The EAC issues the 
survey to meet its obligations under the Help America Vote Act to serve 
as national clearinghouse and resource for the compilation of 
information with respect to the administration of Federal elections; to 
fulfill its data collection requirements under the Uniformed and 
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA); and meet its National 
Voter Registration Act (NVRA) mandate to collect information from 
states concerning the impact of that statute on the administration of 
Federal Elections.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before 4 p.m. EDT on 
November 9, 2009.
    Comments: Public comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments on the proposed information collection should be submitted 
electronically to electiondaysurvey@eac.gov. Written comments on the 
proposed information collection can also be sent to the U.S. Election 
Assistance Commission, 1225 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 1100, 
Washington, DC 20005, Attn: Election Administration and Voting Survey.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Survey: To obtain a free copy of the 
survey: (1) Access the EAC Web site at https://www.eac.gov; (2) write to 
the EAC (including your address and phone number) at U.S. Election 
Assistance Commission, 1225 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 1100, 
Washington, DC 20005, Attn: Election Administration and Voting Survey.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Lynn-Dyson or Ms. Shelly 
Anderson at (202) 566-3100.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title and OMB Number: 2010 Election 
Administration and Voting Survey; OMB Number Pending.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: The survey requests 
information on a state- and county-level (or township-, independent 
city-, borough-level, where applicable) concerning the following 
categories:

Voter registration applications (from the period of Federal General 
Election Day +1, 2008 through Federal General Election Day, 2010)
    (a) Total number of registered voters; (b) Number of active and 
inactive registered voters; (c) Number of persons who registered to 
vote on Election Day--only applicable to States with Election Day 
registration; (d) Number of voters who registered using online 
registration--only applicable to States that allow online registration: 
(e) Number of voter registration applications received from all 
sources; (f) Number of voter registration applications that were 
duplicates, invalid or rejected, new, changes of name, address, party, 
and not categorized; (g) Number of duplicate registration applications 
received from all sources; (h) Total number of removal/confirmation 
notices mailed to voters and the reason for removal; (i) total number 
of voters removed from the registration list or moved to the inactive 
registration list.

Uniformed & Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)

    (a) Total number of UOCAVA absentee ballots transmitted, returned, 
cast, and counted; (b) Total number of UOCAVA absentee ballots not 
counted and the reason for rejection; (c) Total number of Federal 
Write-in Absentee Ballots returned and cast by UOCAVA voters; (d) 
Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted as part of the two-election cycle 
of automatic requests; (e) Number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted as part 
of the two-election cycle of automatic requests that were returned 
undeliverable and submitted for counting.

Election Administration

    (a) Total number of precincts in the state/jurisdiction; (b) Number 
of polling places available for voting in the November 2010 Federal 
general election; (c) Number of poll workers used for Election Day; (d) 
Extent to which jurisdictions had enough poll workers available for the 
general election.

Election Day Activities

    (a) Total number of persons who voted in the 2010 Federal general 
election; (b) The source of the participation number--poll books, 
ballots counted, vote history; (c) Total number of first-time voters 
who registered by mail and were required to provide identification in 
order to vote; (d) Number of voters who appeared on the permanent 
absentee voter registration list; (e) Number of absentee ballots 
requested, received, counted, and not counted; (f) Reasons for absentee 
ballot rejection; (g) Number of provisional ballots cast, counted, and 
rejected; (h) Reasons for provisional ballot rejection; (i) Use of 
electronic and printed poll books during the 2010 Federal general 
election; (j) Type and number of voting equipment used for the 2010 
Federal general election; (k)Type of process in which voting equipment 
was used--precinct, absentee, early vote site, accessible to disabled 
voters, provisional voting; (l) Location in which votes were tallied--
central location, precinct/polling place, or early vote site; (m) 
General comments regarding the jurisdiction's Election Day experiences.

2010 Election Results

    Total number of votes cast--at polling places, via absentee ballot, 
at early vote centers, via provisional ballots.

Statutory Overview (2010 Federal General Election)

    (a) Information on whether the state is exempt from the National 
Voter Registration Act (NVRA); (b) State definition of terms--over-
vote, under-vote, blank ballot, void/spoiled ballot, provisional/
challenged ballot; (c) State definition of inactive and active voter; 
(d) State provision for voter identification at registration, for in-
person voting, and for mail-in or absentee voting; (e) information on 
legal citation for changes to election laws or procedures enacted or 
adopted since the previous Federal general election; (f) State 
definition of voter registration; (g) Process used for moving voters 
from active to inactive lists and from inactive to active; (h) State 
deadline for registration for the Federal general election; (i) 
Information of whether the state is an Election Day/Same Day 
Registration state; (j) Description of state voter registration 
database system--bottom-up or top-down; (k) State voter removal/
confirmation notices processes; (l) Agency or department that is 
responsible for list maintenance; (m) Information on whether there are 
electronic links between the voter registrar's office and other state 
agencies; (n) State's use of National Change of Address (NCOA); (o) 
State's voting eligibility requirements as they relate to convicted 
felons; (p) Tabulation

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of votes cast at a place other than the voter's precinct; (q) Provision 
for voting absentee; (r) State tracking of the date of all ballots cast 
before election day; (s) Provision for mail-in voting in place of at-
the-precinct voting; (t) Acceptance or rejection of provisional ballots 
of voters registered in a different precinct; (u) State process for 
capturing over-votes and under-votes. States and territories that 
submitted a Statutory Overview for 2008 will be asked to provide 
updates to the information above, where applicable.
    Needs and Uses: The EAC issues the survey to meet its obligations 
under the Help America Vote Act to serve as national clearinghouse and 
resource for the compilation of information with respect to the 
administration of Federal elections; to fulfill its data collection 
requirements under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 
Act (UOCAVA); and meet its National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) 
mandate to collect information from states concerning the impact of 
that statute on the administration of Federal Elections. The Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) (42 U.S.C. 15322) requires the EAC to 
serve as a national clearinghouse and resource for the compilation of 
information and review of procedures with respect to the administration 
of Federal Elections. This includes the obligation 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, under the 
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the EAC is responsible for 
collecting information and reporting, biennially, to the United States 
Congress on the impact of that statute. 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. States that respond 
to questions in this survey concerning voter registration related 
matters will meet their NVRA reporting requirements under 42 U.S.C. 
1973gg-7 and EAC regulations. Finally, the Uniformed and Overseas 
Citizens Absentee Voters Act (UOCAVA) mandates that EAC create a 
standardized format for state reporting of UOCAVA voting information 
(42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1). Additionally, UOCAVA requires that ``not 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.'' States that complete and timely submit the UOCAVA 
section of the survey to the EAC will fulfill their UOCAVA reporting 
requirement under 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(c). In order to fulfill the above 
requirements, the EAC is seeking information relating to the period 
from the Federal general election day 2008 +1 through the November 2010 
Federal general election.
    Affected Public (Respondents): State governments, the District of 
Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
United States Virgin Islands.
    Affected Public: State government.
    Number of Respondents: 55.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Burden per Response: 147 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,085 hours.
    Frequency: Biennially.

Thomas R. Wilkey,
Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
[FR Doc. E9-21592 Filed 9-4-09; 8:45 am]
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