U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Washington – Five states that received $10 million in federal grants significantly improved their election data collection and reporting systems, an independent evaluation concluded, building their capacity to gather and report precinct-level Election Day data. The five states collected information on a range of election data points at the precinct level, including number of registered voters, provisional ballots, and number of people who voted in the 2008 federal general election. A full report about the election data collection grant program is available on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) Web site.

Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were awarded $2 million each by EAC to improve their data collection processes and document a series of best practices for collecting precinct-level data. As a result, these states significantly improved their data collection and reporting systems. The congressionally mandated report about the grant program examined outcomes and identified best practices to improve election data collection at the state and local level. Following are highlights from each state’s program:

• Illinois developed and tested a system prototype to accept data from 110 jurisdictions.
• Minnesota built a system module accessible at the state and county level that records and runs reports of statistics on military and overseas voters.
• Ohio built out its analytical capabilities and reporting and data storage.
• Pennsylvania created an integrated statewide election management system that allows 67 counties to use the same software system to collect data.
• Wisconsin implemented a prototype of the Wisconsin Election Data Collection System (WEDCS), a data warehouse. It was pilot tested in February 2009 and implemented in April 2009.

EAC began collecting election data from states for the first time in 2004 when EAC issued its first Election Day Survey report. Quality statistical data helps administrators and independent observers uphold the integrity of an election by casting light on strengths and weaknesses within an election’s administrative process. For example, reliable data can alert officials to unusual patterns such as under voting, which could be symptomatic of poor ballot design.

Best Practices

The grantees also shared the following six best practices for building data collection systems:

• Establish formal state government support for centralized election data reporting via state law or regulation.
• Establish a substantial lead time for the program and be generous in establishing the post election reporting schedule.
• Use experienced system and database programmers.
• Keep stakeholders informed.
• Pilot test system enhancements.
• Train and support system users.

The grants were authorized to EAC under the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008, and were awarded to recipients in May 2008. Criteria used to select the grantees are listed in the report along with additional details on program outcomes.

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