U.S. Election Assistance Commission

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has issued two new brochures for election administrators that provide guidance on serving military and overseas civilian voters and developing an audit trail of elections.

These Quick Start guides are developed in partnership with election officials from around the country, and are part of a series of EAC resources aimed at promoting the administration of fair, accurate, transparent and efficient elections.

Uniformed and Overseas Voters
The Quick Start Management Guide on Uniformed and Overseas Voters offers guidance on serving overseas voters, including communication strategies for securing and managing the voter registration and ballot transmission process. According to a recent EAC survey of military and overseas voters, half of those who reported not voting said they encountered problems with voter registration and requesting ballots; one-quarter said they had trouble returning ballots. 

More than six million military and overseas citizens are eligible to vote. They include three million civilians; 1.4 million military personnel and 1.3 million of their dependents; and 100,000 federal civilian employees. Their voting rights are protected under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). These voters will find additional information on the EAC's Resources for Overseas Citizens and Military Voters section of the Web site.

Audit Trail
The Quick Start Management Guide for Developing an Audit Trail provides step-by-step guidance on how to implement and manage documentation of election processes, from setting up and validating an election and documenting the delivery of voting equipment to developing a polling place audit trail and performing a post-election audit. Comprehensive audit trails are central to demonstrating the integrity, accuracy and transparency of an election.

The EAC provides Quick Start Management Guides and other studies and resources to fulfill its duty under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to perform research and engage in other activities to promote the effective administration of federal elections.

All brochures in the Quick Start series may be downloaded from the EAC’s Web site. To request hard copies, contact Laiza Otero by sending an email to lotero@eac.gov or calling (866) 747-1471.

The EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by HAVA. The 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 four EAC commissioners are Rosemary Rodriguez, chair; Caroline Hunter, vice chair; Donetta Davidson; and Gracia Hillman.