Kevin J. Coleman
Analyst in Elections
Eric A. Fischer
Senior Specialist in Science and Technology
The November 2000 presidential election made previously obscure details of election administration the focus of state and federal legislative action. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L. 107-252) was enacted in 2002, and states have made additional changes to election laws and procedures since then. HAVA created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), established a set of election administration requirements, and provided federal funding, but did not supplant state and local control over election administration. Several reform issues have arisen or persisted subsequently. Some have criticized the EAC for being too obtrusive, or for being slow, ineffectual, or even unnecessary. HAVA promoted the use of electronic voting systems to facilitate voting by persons with disabilities, but those systems raised concerns about security and reliability that led many states to require voter-verifiable paper ballot records. HAVA’s voter-identification provisions did not resolve the controversy over whether more stringent requirements are needed to prevent voter fraud, or whether such requirements are more likely to disenfranchise legitimate voters. Similarly, while HAVA’s voter-registration requirement may have improved that process, some have argued for more automated systems. Concerns about inadvertent disenfranchisement of military and overseas voters led to a new law to correct those problems.
Altogether, more than $3.5 billion of federal funds was appropriated through FY2010 under HAVA : about $3.3 billion in election reform payments to states; $130 million for the EAC and its various programs; and another $130 million in accessibility payments to states, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. For FY2011, the President’s budget request included $16.8 million for the EAC but no funding for election reform payments to the states. The Senate Appropriations Committee (S.Rept. 111-238) and the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee recommended similar amounts. However, the EAC has been operating at FY2010 funding levels since September 30, 2010, under a series of continuing resolutions. For FY2012, the Administration requested $13.7 million for the EAC, with no funding for election reform payments because large sums that were previously appropriated remain unexpended.
Numerous bills to amend HAVA have been considered in Congress. The 111th Congress enacted a military and overseas citizens voting bill that was signed into law in October 2009 as part of the defense authorization act (P.L. 111-84). Others receiving committee or floor action in the House were H.R. 512, to restrict campaign activities of chief state election officials; H.R. 1604, to establish universal absentee voting; H.R. 2510, to provide grants for voluntary absentee ballot tracking; and H.R. 2393, to improve military voting procedures.
In the 112th Congress, the Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration held a hearing on April 14, 2011, on H.R. 672 (Harper), which would amend HAVA to eliminate the EAC and transfer its functions to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). On May 25, 2011, the full committee approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill, offered by Representative Harper. The bill was reported on June 2. As amended, it would transfer essential functions to the FEC only, rather than to the FEC and NIST. H.R. 1937 (Gonzalez), introduced on May 23, would, in contrast, reauthorize the EAC through 2016, require state participation in the EAC’s election-day surveys, modify procedures for testing of voting systems, and require specified studies. The House took up H.R. 672 on June 21 under suspension of the rules, but the measure failed to attract the two-thirds majority needed for passage when a vote was taken on June 22.
Date of Report: June 27, 2011
Number of Pages: 14
Order Number: RS20898
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
Analyst in Elections
Eric A. Fischer
Senior Specialist in Science and Technology
The November 2000 presidential election made previously obscure details of election administration the focus of state and federal legislative action. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L. 107-252) was enacted in 2002, and states have made additional changes to election laws and procedures since then. HAVA created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), established a set of election administration requirements, and provided federal funding, but did not supplant state and local control over election administration. Several reform issues have arisen or persisted subsequently. Some have criticized the EAC for being too obtrusive, or for being slow, ineffectual, or even unnecessary. HAVA promoted the use of electronic voting systems to facilitate voting by persons with disabilities, but those systems raised concerns about security and reliability that led many states to require voter-verifiable paper ballot records. HAVA’s voter-identification provisions did not resolve the controversy over whether more stringent requirements are needed to prevent voter fraud, or whether such requirements are more likely to disenfranchise legitimate voters. Similarly, while HAVA’s voter-registration requirement may have improved that process, some have argued for more automated systems. Concerns about inadvertent disenfranchisement of military and overseas voters led to a new law to correct those problems.
Altogether, more than $3.5 billion of federal funds was appropriated through FY2010 under HAVA : about $3.3 billion in election reform payments to states; $130 million for the EAC and its various programs; and another $130 million in accessibility payments to states, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. For FY2011, the President’s budget request included $16.8 million for the EAC but no funding for election reform payments to the states. The Senate Appropriations Committee (S.Rept. 111-238) and the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee recommended similar amounts. However, the EAC has been operating at FY2010 funding levels since September 30, 2010, under a series of continuing resolutions. For FY2012, the Administration requested $13.7 million for the EAC, with no funding for election reform payments because large sums that were previously appropriated remain unexpended.
Numerous bills to amend HAVA have been considered in Congress. The 111th Congress enacted a military and overseas citizens voting bill that was signed into law in October 2009 as part of the defense authorization act (P.L. 111-84). Others receiving committee or floor action in the House were H.R. 512, to restrict campaign activities of chief state election officials; H.R. 1604, to establish universal absentee voting; H.R. 2510, to provide grants for voluntary absentee ballot tracking; and H.R. 2393, to improve military voting procedures.
In the 112th Congress, the Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration held a hearing on April 14, 2011, on H.R. 672 (Harper), which would amend HAVA to eliminate the EAC and transfer its functions to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). On May 25, 2011, the full committee approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill, offered by Representative Harper. The bill was reported on June 2. As amended, it would transfer essential functions to the FEC only, rather than to the FEC and NIST. H.R. 1937 (Gonzalez), introduced on May 23, would, in contrast, reauthorize the EAC through 2016, require state participation in the EAC’s election-day surveys, modify procedures for testing of voting systems, and require specified studies. The House took up H.R. 672 on June 21 under suspension of the rules, but the measure failed to attract the two-thirds majority needed for passage when a vote was taken on June 22.
Date of Report: June 27, 2011
Number of Pages: 14
Order Number: RS20898
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
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