--Media Advisory--

The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) will conduct a public hearing to identify best practices, problems and transition issues associated with the most common types of voting equipment to be used in the upcoming November election. Procedures dealing with new federal provisional voting requirements will also be examined.

The EAC hearing will be held this Thursday, June 3, 2004 at Loyola University, Water Tower Campus, 25 East Pearson, Kasbeer Hall, 15th Floor, in Chicago, IL.

The EAC is currently preparing to release an initial set of "Best Practices" for use by election officials as they prepare for the November presidential election. Thursday's hearing will follow a previous public hearing held in Washington May 5th which focused on the reliability and security of electronic voting devices.

The following witness panels will be presented: Punchcard Panel, Lever Machine Panel, Optical Scan Panel and Provisional Vote Panel.

The hearing will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., featuring oral testimony by witnesses, followed by questioning by EAC Commissioners.

*The U.S. Election Assistance Commission was created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission is charged with administering voluntary guidelines for election requirements under HAVA, maintaining a clearinghouse of information regarding election administration procedures including testing and certification of election equipment, and administering the Election Assistance and Help America Vote Programs.