U.S. Election Assistance Commission

WASHINGTON – The Standards Board of the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has selected officers to serve through June 2008.

Kentucky State Board of Elections Executive Director Sarah Ball Johnson is the chair; Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Clerk of Court Louis Bernard is the vice chair; and Troy, Michigan, City Clerk Tonni Bartholomew is the secretary.

“Congratulations to these new officers, and I thank them for their continued commitment to the Commission,” said Commissioner Gracia Hillman, EAC’s designated federal officer to the Standards Board. “We rely on their expertise and input to make sure the work we do will assist election officials and serve voters throughout the country.”

The officers were selected by the executive board of the Standards Board, which consists of nine members elected by the Standards Board. Officers serve one-year terms.

The public will have the opportunity to view the Standards Board conducting business through its next virtual public forum, which will be held July 2 through July 6, 2007. During this time the Standards Board will review and comment on a draft EAC Best Practices Manual on the Recruitment, Training and Retention of Poll Workers. The public will be able to view the draft document as well as comments posted by Standards Board members. For more information about the Standards Board and the upcoming virtual public forum, visit www.eac.gov.

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) designates a 110-member Standards Board to assist EAC in carrying out its mandates under the law. The board consists of 55 state election officials selected by their respective chief state election official. The other 55 members are local election officials selected through a process supervised by the chief state election official. HAVA prohibits any two members representing the same state to be members of the same political party. The board selects nine members to serve as an executive board, of which not more than five are state election officials, not more than five are local election officials, and not more than five are members of the same political party.

EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by HAVA. 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. EAC also serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. The four EAC commissioners are Donetta Davidson, chair; Rosemary Rodriguez, vice chair; Caroline Hunter; and Gracia Hillman.

###