[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42761-42764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17126]
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ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
Proposed Information Collection--2014 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
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thereof. The EAC, pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(iii), intends to submit
this proposed information collection (2014 Election Administration and
Voting Survey) to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
for approval. The 2014 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 both the EAC's and the Department of
Defense Federal Voting Assistance Programs' quantitative State 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
September 16, 2013.
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
[email protected]. Written comments on the proposed information
collection can also be sent to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission,
1201 New York Avenue NW., Suite 300, 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 http:// www.eac.gov and download
an electronic copy of the survey; or (2) write to the EAC (including
your address and phone number) at U.S. Election Assistance Commission,
1201 New York Avenue NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005, Attn:
Election Administration and Voting Survey.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Lynn-Dyson at (202) 566-
3100, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 1201 New York Avenue NW.,
Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005.
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 both the EAC and Department of Defense
Federal Voting Assistance Program 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 the Department of Defense Federal
Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) work with the EAC and State Chief
Election officials to develop standards for reporting UOCAVA voting
information (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1) and that the FVAP will store the
reported data and present the findings within the congressionally-
mandated report to the President and Congress. 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 2012 +1
through the November 2014 Federal general election. The 2014 Survey has
been expanded to include all of the questions from the Post-Election
Survey of State and Local Election Officials, OMB Control Number 0704-
0125, formerly conducted by the Department of Defense Federal Voting
Assistance Program. The Election Assistance Commission will provide the
data from the new included items to the Department of Defense after
data collection is completed. The additional questions are necessary to
fulfill the mandate of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act (UOCAVA of 1986 [42 U.S.C. 1973ff]). UOCAVA requires the
States to allow Uniformed Services personnel, their family members, and
overseas citizens to use absentee registration procedures and to vote
by absentee ballot in general, special, primary, and runoff elections
for Federal offices. UOCAVA covers members of the Uniformed Services
and the merchant marine to include the commissioned corps of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Public Health
Service and their eligible dependents, Federal civilian employees
overseas, and overseas U.S. citizens not affiliated with the Federal
Government. Local Election Officials (LEO) process voter registration
and absentee ballot applications, send absentee ballots to voters, and
receive and process the voted ballots in counties, cities, parishes,
townships and other jurisdictions within the U.S. The Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FVAP) conducts the post-election
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survey of State and Local Election Officials to determine registration
and participation rates that are representative of all citizens covered
by the Act, to measure State-Federal cooperation, and to evaluate the
effectiveness of the overall absentee voting program.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title and OMB Number: 2014 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, 2012 Through Federal General Election Day, 2014)
(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 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)
(a) Total number and type of UOCAVA absentee ballots transmitted;
(b) Total number and type of UOCAVA ballots returned and submitted for
counting; (c) Total number of the type of UOCAVA ballot
returned by type of UOCAVA voter; (d) Total number and type of all
UOCAVA ballots counted; (e) Total number of the type of UOCAVA ballot
counted by type of UOCAVA voter; (f) Total number and type of all
UOCAVA ballots rejected; (g) Total number of UOCAVA ballots rejected by
reason for rejection; (h) Total number of UOCAVA ballot rejected by
type of UOCAVA voter; (i) Total number and type of registered and
eligible UOCAVA voters; (j) Total number of Federal Post Card
Applications (FPCAs) received by type of voter; (k) Total number of
FPCAs rejected by type of voter; (l) Total number of FPCAs rejected
after the absentee ballot request deadline; (m) Date when transmission
of absentee ballots to UOCAVA voters began for the November election
cycle; (n) Total number of UOCAVA ballots transmitted before and after
the 45-day deadline by mode of transmission; (o) Total number of UOCAVA
ballots transmitted that were returned as undeliverable by mode of
transmission; (p) Total number of UOCAVA ballots returned by voters,
excluding Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots (FWABs); (q) Total number
of UOCAVA ballots returned by voters and rejected, excluding FWABS, by
type of voter and by mode of transmission; (r) Total number of UOCAVA
ballots counted by mode of transmission, excluding FWABS; (s) Total
number of FWABs received by type of voter; (t) Total number of FWABs
rejected by type of voter; (u) Total number of FWABs rejected by reason
for rejection; and (v) Total number of FWABs received by type of voter.
Election Administration
(a) Total number of precincts in the state/jurisdiction; (b) Number
of polling places available for voting in the November 2014 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 2014 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 2014 Federal general
election; (j) Type and number of voting equipment used for the 2014
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.
2014 Election Results
Total number of votes cast--at polling places, via absentee ballot,
at early vote centers, via provisional ballots.
Statutory Overview (2014 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 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.
Affected Public (Respondents): State or local governments, the
District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands.
Affected Public: State or local government.
Number of Respondents: 55.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
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Estimated Burden per Response: 230 hours per collection, 115 hours
annualized.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,650 hours per collection,
6,325 hours annualized.
Frequency: Biennially.
Alice Miller,
Chief Operating Officer and Acting Executive Director, U.S. Election
Assistance Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-17126 Filed 7-16-13; 8:45 am]
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