Answer from the GAO (email received today)

[anamandujano]

I emailed them about the New Mexico clearing of the voting machines way back when. Just posting this for the record.

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Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 11:50:39 -0500
From: "Anthony H. Gamboa" <[e-mail]> Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Your Comments about the recent National Election Process

Dear Concerned Citizen:

This acknowledges receipt of your comments pertaining to the
recent national election processes. In the past, GAO has
conducted a range of federal elections-related work, including
broad-based systemic reviews primarily focusing on issues
relating to federal election requirements and technologies. We
also have ongoing and planned work relating to systemic election
issues, involving reviews of voter registration processes,
provisional voting, and voting technologies. In addition, GAO has
reviewed federal entities charged with overseeing various aspects
of election-related activities. For example, we recently issued
a report on actions taken by the Department of Justice to
investigate and pursue violations of federal laws related to
voting irregularities emanating from prior national elections.*
You may obtain copies of our published election-related reports
on our web site at www.gao.gov.

While GAO has and will continue to do certain elections-related
work, we are not authorized to engage in enforcement efforts
relating to specific allegations of voting irregularities. Under
the nation's legal framework, elections are a matter largely
reserved to, and regulated by, the states.** Thus, many of the
issues relating to the recent election are primarily the
responsibility of state and local jurisdictions, since they
involve the implementation of state law and regulation. As a
result, general questions concerning these issues, as well as
specific allegations of voting irregularities, should be
addressed to state and local officials, such as the Secretary of
State or the State Attorney General.

Congress has, however, asserted its prerogatives under the
Elections Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 4,
Clause 1) to impose certain procedural requirements on federal
elections through such federal statutes as the Help America Vote
Act and the National Voter Registration Act, both of which are
enforced by the Department of Justice. In this regard,
questions or allegations regarding federal voting irregularities
generally are addressed by one of three federal entities. The
name, areas of responsibility, and contact point for these
entities are:

-- The Civil Rights Division, Voting Section, at the Department
of Justice: responsible for enforcing federal voting rights
statutes. Information about how to file a complaint through the
mail or by telephone can be found at
www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/contact.htm.

-- The Criminal Division, Public Integrity Section, at the
Department of Justice: responsible for enforcing federal
criminal laws applicable to federal election fraud offenses,
among other things, in conjunction with the 93 U.S. Attorneys.
Information about how to contact the Criminal Division can be
found at www.usdoj.gov/criminal.

-- The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC): serves as a
national clearinghouse and resource for information on the
administration of federal elections. Information about the EAC
can be found at www.eac.gov.

Given the above framework, we have referred your communication to
the appropriate authority. We thank you for your interest in
helping to improve the election process in the United States, and
for information that will help us identify potential systemic
issues to include in our work. I assure you that GAO will
continue to do its part in connection with important elections
issues consistent with our scope of responsibility and authority.

Sincerely yours,
Anthony H. Gamboa
General Counsel

* GAO, Department of Justice's Activities to Address Past
Election-Related Voting Irregularities, GAO-04-1041R (Washington
D.C.: September 14, 2004).

** For example, as outlined in Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of
the Constitution (known as the Elections Clause), the legislature
in each state is required to prescribe the "Times, Places and
Manner" of holding elections for United States Senators and
Representatives. The clause goes on to state that "...Congress
may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulation..."

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edited to fix typo

[applegrove]

1. Thanks for the info. A gameplan for who to hit when it comes

Thanks for the info. A gameplan for who to hit when it comes time to fix the voting laws on a state by state basis.

[Helga Scow Stern]

2. They may be the main recourse..

the EAC has been voted to disband by the Secretaries of State:

http://www.electionline.org/site/docs/pdf/NASS.EAC.Feb.pdf

Not that they did much anyway.

[mod mom]

3. I got the same one. nt

[Wilms]

4. Thanks for posting this "keeper".

Bookmarked.

[rumpel]

5. Thanks. I will now check out those reports they mention.

on edit

I have only found one.
Which says pretty much the same thing as in the letter, uder Special Statement 11/23/04