U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Washington – The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) today released its Improving State Voter Registration Databases report, funded by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The report, available on the EAC Web site, includes data gathered from the states about their databases and short-term and long-term recommendations for improving and implementing them.

EAC will use the NAS report as a basis to update its 2005 voluntary guidance for statewide voter registration databases, in accordance with EAC’s Fiscal Years 2009-2014 Strategic Plan.

“We were very fortunate to have the National Academy of Sciences as our partner in this important research effort, and I thank all of the election officials and other experts who provided their time and expertise to this project,” said EAC Chair Gineen Bresso Beach.  

Recommendations cover the following subject areas:  

• Public education and dissemination of registration information
• Administrative processes and procedures
• Funding registration databases
• Data collection and entry
• Matching procedures
• Privacy, security, and backup
• Database interoperability 

The report presents information gathered during three years of study conducted by the Committee on State Voter Registration Databases, a group of 14 experts in the fields of election administration; political science; computer and network security; and databases, who were organized by NAS to consider this issue.

Background Information
In order to receive as much input as possible, NAS convened field hearings and provided updates at EAC public meetings. Field hearings were held in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; Kansas City, Mo.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Boston, Mass., during which the Committee on State Voter Registration Databases heard testimony from local experts.

In June 2009, EAC’s Research, Policy, and Programs division conducted listening sessions with election officials from 50 of the 55 states and territories to learn more about their voter registration databases. Topics discussed included matching protocols, ownership of data, backup capacity and data entry. In 2008 the interim NAS report was discussed at an EAC public meeting, and EAC held a public workshop in August about the implementation of statewide voter registration databases in preparation for Election Day 2008. 

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) requires states to “implement, in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list….” Congress mandated that the EAC issue voluntary guidance to assist the states in implementing the provisions of HAVA relating to statewide voter registration list requirements. EAC issued its first set of voluntary guidance in July 2005.

EAC is an independent commission created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. 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 Gineen Bresso Beach, chair; Gracia Hillman, vice chair; and Donetta Davidson. There is one vacancy on the commission.