EAC Offers Information to States on Key Election Management Topics
02/25/2010
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) issued election administration information this week to state and local election officials on five topics: canvassing and certifying an election, conducting a recount, administering provisional ballots, building community partnerships, and communicating with the public.
By issuing the voluntary management materials, EAC fulfills a mandate under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to provide assistance to states on election administration. This latest guidance augments EAC’s popular Election Management Guidelines series, a collection of 16 chapters on election management fundamentals, from testing and certifying voting systems and planning for contingencies to managing polling places and auditing an election.
“Our Election Management Guidelines serve as a go-to resource for state and local election offices,” said EAC Chair Donetta Davidson. “They contain detailed and practical information to assist election officials as they tailor their guidelines to meet the unique needs of their jurisdictions.”
The chapters were developed with input from the election community, including election officials, voting advocates, election technology experts, and EAC advisory board members. Following is a list of the chapters, all of which can be downloaded here (PDF 1.79MB):
* Building Community Partnerships provides ideas on how to maximize resources through the use of strategic partnerships.
* Canvassing and Certifying an Election describes effective methods to organize a successful canvassing team, ensure transparency throughout the process, and reconcile tallies into the certification of election results.
* Communicating with the Public reviews traditional and cost-effective new media and social networking tools for communicating with voters.
* Conducting a Recount outlines the staffing, training costs, supplies, and timelines associated with recounts and provides practices for conducting a recount on different types of voting systems.
* Provisional Ballots discusses federal laws on provisional ballots and guidance on how to comply with them.
EAC encourages all election officials to take advantage of these free resources by downloading them from the EAC Web site or by ordering copies by calling EAC toll free at (866) 747-1471. Other topics covered in the Election Management Guidelines series include:
* Certification
* System Security
* Physical Security
* Acceptance Testing
* Ballot Building
* Pre-election and Parallel Testing
* Absentee Voting and Vote by Mail
* Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
* Polling Place and Vote Center Management
* Developing an Audit Trail
* Contingency Planning and Change Management
For additional information on EAC election administration resources, including voters’ guides and translated materials to assist jurisdictions covered under the Voting Rights Act, visit the Election Official Center at eac.gov/election.
EAC is an independent commission created by the Help America Vote Act. EAC serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form. The three EAC commissioners are Donetta Davidson, chair; Gineen Bresso Beach; and Gracia Hillman. There is one vacancy on the commission.
http://www.eac.gov/News/eac-offers-information-to-states-on-key-election-management-topics/(.pdf)
http://www.eac.gov/election/quick-start-management-guides/docs/emg-chapters12_to_16/attachment_download/file