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Help America Vote Act
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==Provisions== ===State plan and reporting=== To be eligible for federal funding, states must submit a plan describing how payments will be used and distributed, provisions for voter education and poll worker training, how to adopt voting system guidelines, performance measures to determine success (including goals, timetables, responsibilities, and criteria), administrative complaint procedures, and the committee who helped develop the state plan. Each year the state receives federal funding they must submit a report to the EAC detailing a list of expenditures, the number of and types of voting equipment obtained with the funds, and an analysis and description of the activities funded. ===Accessibility=== ====Polling place==== The [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Secretary of Health and Human Services]] is authorized to make payments to state and local governments for making polling places‒including path of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas‒accessible to individuals with disabilities, including the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters; and providing individuals with disabilities and others with information about the accessibility of polling places, including outreach programs to inform the individuals about the availability of accessible polling places and training election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers on how best to promote the access and participation of individuals with disabilities in elections for Federal office. ====Voting systems==== HAVA requires each polling location have at least one voting system accessible to individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters. ===Computerized statewide voter registration=== HAVA requires states develop a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered at the State level. (Previously, voter registration lists could be maintained solely by local officials.) HAVA requires the statewide list be coordinated with other agency databases within the state. HAVA also requires regular "maintenance" of the statewide list including removing ineligible voters and duplicate names are eliminated in accordance with the [[National Voter Registration Act of 1993]] (NVRA). ===Voter identification=== HAVA requires that first-time voters who registered by mail, and have not previously voted in a federal election in the State, to present a form of identification to the appropriate State or local election official before or on election day. The ID may be either a current and valid photo identification or a copy of a current utility bill, [[bank statement]], government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. Voters who submitted any of these forms of identification during registration are exempt, as are voters entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the [[Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act]]. The ID requirement applies to in person and vote by mail voters. In the case of a vote by mail voter, a copy of the ID must be submitted with the ballot. A State may enact further ID requirements which aren't specified under HAVA. ===Provisional voting=== HAVA requires voters identified as ineligible (such as voters not found on the registered list), but who believe themselves to be eligible, to be able to cast a [[provisional ballot]]. After the election, the appropriate State or local election entity will determine if the voter was eligible, if so counting the vote and notify the voter of the outcome. Approximately 1.9 million voters nationwide cast provisional ballots in the 2004 election. Of those, approximately 1.2 million—or 64.5%—were counted.<ref name="BCJ">{{cite web |last=Weiser |first=Wendy R. |date=March 29, 2006 |url=http://www.brennancenter.org/dynamic/subpages/download_file_39043.pdf |title=Are HAVA's Provisional Ballots Working? |publisher=[[Brennan Center for Justice]] |access-date=2008-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808135519/http://www.brennancenter.org/dynamic/subpages/download_file_39043.pdf |archive-date=August 8, 2008 }}</ref> Additionally, any time polling hours are extended voters are required to vote using provisional ballots.<ref name="HAVA-sec302">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.302</ref> Further, voters who do not comply with HAVA's voter identification requirements are able to cast a provisional ballot. ===Election Assistance Commission=== HAVA created the [[Election Assistance Commission]] (EAC), an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States government]]. The EAC is responsible for holding hearings, functioning as a clearinghouse for election administration information, creating a testing and certification program for voting systems, providing voluntary guidance to states, and administering HAVA grant programs. The EAC has no rulemaking authority other than that permitted by the [[National Voter Registration Act of 1993]] (NVRA). Any action taken by the EAC requires approval of at least three commissioners ====Commissioners==== The Election Assistance Commission includes four commissioners (2 Democrats and 2 Republicans) appointed by the President and subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. Commissioners are recommended by House and Senate leadership. HAVA requires all commissioners have experience with or expertise in election administration or the study of elections.<ref name="HAVA-sec302a3">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.203 a. 3</ref> ====Staff==== Staff of the EAC will consist of at least an executive director and a general counsel. ====Annual report==== Not later than January 31 of each year, the EAC is required to submit an annual report to Congress detailing activities related to HAVA programs including grants or other payments and all votes taken by commissioners. ===Voting machines=== HAVA requires states to use funding allocated by the federal government to replace [[Voting machine#Punched card voting|punched card voting systems]] or [[Voting machine#Levers|lever voting systems]] with new systems in accordance with HAVA's voting system standards.The funding amounted to $325 million, allowing $4,000 to be given to every precinct to further the effort of unifying voting systems.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-06 |title=Civil Rights Division {{!}} Help America Vote Act |url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/help-america-vote-act-3 |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}</ref> ===Voting systems standards=== HAVA sets forth requirements for all [[voting machine|voting systems]], including that they: * permit the voter to verify (in a private and independent manner) the votes selected by the voter on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted; * provide the voter with the opportunity (in a private and independent manner) to change the ballot or correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted (including the opportunity to correct the error through the issuance of a replacement ballot if the voter was otherwise unable to change the ballot or correct any error); and * notify the voter of [[overvote]]s (votes for more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest) and provide the voter a chance to correct these errors. States that do not use [[electronic voting|electronic equipment]] to assist voters with detecting errors must: * establish a voter education program, specific to that voting system, that notifies each voter of the effect of casting multiple votes for an office; and * provide the voter with instructions on how to correct the ballot before it is cast and counted. HAVA further requires that any required notification preserve the privacy of the voter and the secrecy of the ballot; and that alternative-language accessibility be available pursuant to the requirements of section 203 of the [[Voting Rights Act]].<ref name="HAVA-sec302a3" /> ====Auditing==== HAVA requires all voting systems be auditable and produce a permanent paper record with a manual audit capacity available as an official record for any recount conducted.<ref name="HAVA-sec302a2">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.301 a. 2.</ref> ====Voluntary Voting System Guidelines==== HAVA tasks the EAC with creating and maintaining the [[Voluntary Voting System Guidelines]] (VVSG). ====Research and development==== The EAC is responsible for making grants to entities in carrying out research and development to improve the quality, reliability, accuracy, accessibility, affordability, and security of voting equipment, election systems, and voting technology. HAVA requires the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] annually recommend areas for research. ====Implementation timelines and challenges==== Responses to these requirements varied by state, but a widespread effect has been the purchasing of [[electronic voting]] machines, including [[DRE voting machine]]s. There are criticisms of the reliability and security of these machines. ; Continued purchasing of non-compliant machines Some electronic voting machines sold through 2005, including those by Diebold Election Systems, did not meet the requirements of HAVA and were not required to be in compliance until January 1, 2006. Concerns were raised that as late as 2005, vendors were selling non-compliant machines to unwitting states and counties who believed that they were HAVA-compliant. Unless vendors offered a specific guarantee of HAVA compliance, equipment may have required scrapping or retrofitting at taxpayers' expense after January 1, 2006.<ref name="Pynchon">{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Pynchon |url=http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6072 |title=Diebold Touch Screens Don't Meet Disability Requirements |publisher=[[Verified Voting Foundation]] |date=June 28, 2005 |access-date=2008-10-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001638/http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6072 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Pynchon-original">{{cite news | first = Susan | last = Pynchon | url = http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/03OpOPN46062805.htm | title = Diebold Touch Screens Don't Meet Disability Requirements | work = Daytona Beach News-Journal Online | publisher = Internet Archive | date = June 28, 2005 | access-date = 2008-10-10 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050711082330/http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/03OpOPN46062805.htm |archive-date = 2005-07-11}}</ref><ref name="nc-voter">{{cite web |url = http://www.ncvoter.net/compliance.html |title = Why Can't We Keep Our Old Voting Machines? |work = N.C. Voter |publisher = North Carolina Coalition for Verified Voting |access-date = 2008-10-10 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080905142445/http://ncvoter.net/compliance.html |archive-date = 2008-09-05 }}</ref> ; Timelines not met Compliance with HAVA provisions and timelines was not met in every state, both because of the difficulty of identifying and certifying reliable HAVA compliant voting machines and due to political and bureaucratic delays. A February 2006 report from Election Data Services found that 124 counties reported still using punched card voting systems in the 2006 election (down from 566 in 2000); similarly, lever machines had decreased from 434 counties in 2000 to 119 in 2006, with New York state accounting for more than half the total number of counties still using lever machines. In 2006, 69 million voters used optical scan voting machines, while another 66 million used DRE voting machines, while 11 million were offered multiple options as part of a mixed system.<ref name="EDS-69MillionVoters">{{cite web | date = February 6, 2006 | url = http://www.electiondataservices.com/EDSInc_VEStudy2006.pdf | title = 69 Million Voters will use Optical Scan Ballots in 2006; 66 Million Voters will use Electronic Equipment | publisher = Election Data Services | access-date = 2008-10-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418011548/http://www.electiondataservices.com/EDSInc_VEStudy2006.pdf | archive-date = April 18, 2006 }}</ref> ===Establishing student programs=== HAVA establishes three programs for students, one to recruit college students as pollworkers, one to recruit high school students, and one to provide grants for the [[National Student/Parent Mock Election|National Student and Parent Mock Election]], a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to promote voter participation in American elections to enable it to carry out voter education activities for students and their parents.<ref name="Coleman">{{cite web | last = Coleman | first = Kevin J. |author2=Eric A. Fischer | date = January 21, 2004 | url = https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/28920.pdf | title = CRS Report for Congress: Elections Reform: Overview and Issues | work = Foreign Press Centers | publisher = [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] | access-date = 2008-10-10 }}</ref> ===Military members and overseas citizens=== HAVA mandates changes improving the access of military and overseas citizens, including requiring: * the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] to implement measures to ensure that a postmark or other official proof of mailing date is provided on each absentee ballot collected at any overseas location or vessel at sea;<ref name="HAVA-sec701b">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.701b.</ref> * the secretary of each military department to ensure that all military and their families have easy access to voting information;<ref name="HAVA-sec701c-d">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.701c-d.</ref> * each state to designate a single office for providing information to overseas voters;<ref name="HAVA-sec702">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.702.</ref> and * each state to inform overseas voters of why any application for registration is rejected.<ref name="HAVA-sec707">{{USPL|107|252}} SEC.707.</ref>
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