Election Assistance Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The EAC seeks public comment on the proposed policy ``Advisory 09-001 Maintenance of Effort Funding.'' This advisory supersedes Advisories 07-003 and 07-003A and fulfills the Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) ongoing responsibility to provide information on the management of Federal funds provided under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). EAC issues this notice according to a policy adopted on September 18, 2008 that requires EAC to provide notice and an opportunity for public comment on, among other things, advisories being considered for adoption by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Pursuant to sections 254(a)(11)(A) and 255(b) of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), Public Law 107-252, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) hereby causes to be published in the Federal Register material changes to the HAVA State plans previously submitted by Louisiana and Nevada.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), the purpose of this notice is to announce that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has renewed the charter for the Standards Board for a two-year period through October 27, 2010. The Standards Board is a Federal advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is publishing notice of its final rules implementing provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, and the Privacy Act.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is promulgating administrative regulations to implement standards of conduct for Commission employees, requirements on testimony by Commission employees and production of Commission records in legal proceedings, and requirements for nondiscrimination on the basis of handicap in programs or activities conducted by the Commission.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has submitted the following information collection request (Voting System Test Laboratory Accreditation Program Manual) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on February 2, 2008, at 73 FR 6494. The notice allowed for a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received on this information collection; however, modifications were made to improve and clarify the information collection based on comments submitted to a request for substantive comments (73 FR 6495) and internal review of the document. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until September 24, 2008. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10. 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.

The EAC seeks public comment on a proposed policy entitled ``Proposed Notice and Public Comment Policy.'' This policy is to provide effective notice for a period of public comment on all policies being considered for adoption by the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that are not required for public comment under law.

Pursuant to sections 254(a)(11)(A) and 255(b) of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), Public Law 107-252, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) hereby causes to be published in the Federal Register material changes to the HAVA State plan previously submitted by Colorado.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is proposing administrative regulations to implement the Freedom of Information Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, and the Privacy Act.

In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, EAC announces the proposed extension of a public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. 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. The information collection tool is available on the EAC Web site (https://www.eac.gov).

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) (Pub. L. 107-252, October 29, 2002) established the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Section 202 of HAVA directs the EAC to adopt voluntary voting system guidelines (WSG) and to provide for the testing, certification, decertification, and recertification of voting system hardware and software. The VVSG provides specifications and standards against which voting systems can be tested to determine if they provide basic functionality, accessibility, and security capabilities. Section 221 of HAVA mandates the creation of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) to assist the EAC in developing its voluntary voting system guidance. The TGDC has recommended standards to the EAC. These recommended standards were submitted by the TGDC to the EAC's Executive Director pursuant to section 221 of HAVA. As part of its development process the EAC is seeking public comment on the TGDC's recommended standards. The EAC encourages the public to offer specific and detailed comments on all aspects and sections of the requirements. The EAC is particularly interested in receiving comments on three distinct issues: (1) The concept of Software Independence and the corresponding requirements for Independent Voter Verifiable Records and the Innovation class; (2) Open Ended Vulnerability Testing; and (3) The usability and accessibility benchmarks developed for this iteration of the VVSG. All three of these concepts are new to the VVSG and could have a substantial impact on the cost of implementation and on the security and accessibility of voting systems. The purpose of this notice is to extend the public comment period an additional sixty days. The EAC is currently in the process of conducting a series of roundtable discussions regarding the TGDC recommended guidelines. The first of these roundtables occurred on December 13, 2007 in Austin, TX and involved a group of computer security scientists from around the United States. The next roundtable was conducted on February 29, 2008 in Washington, DC and involved Voting System Manufacturers. The EAC is currently planning to conduct additional roundtables involving usability/accessibility professionals, election officials, and voting integrity advocates in March, April and May of 2008. The purpose of extending the public comment period is to allow the public the opportunity to continue to comment on the proposed standards including the ideas presented at the roundtables the EAC is conducting.

The EAC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed information collection, EAC's Voting System Test Laboratory Accreditation Program Manual. 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, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (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. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for approval of this information collection by the Office of Management and budget; they also will become a matter of public record. This notice requests comments solely on the four criteria above. A separate notice will be published on the Federal Register to request substantive comments on the proposed information collection; please refer to the EAC's Web site, https://www.eac.gov, for further information regarding the submission of substantive comments.