NIST and HAVA

[Neal McBurnett <neal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

People have asked about NIST's role according to HAVA.

A thorough answer is at:
 http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/voting_symposium.htm

That only talks about voluntary standards and gives NIST mainly
a supporting role.  I think the states will continue to retain the
major responsibility for certification and mandatory standards.

Below are some excerpts.

Neal McBurnett                 http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/
Signed and/or sealed mail encouraged.  GPG/PGP Keyid: 2C9EBA60


 Enacted by Congress in October 2002, the HAVA legislation gives the Commerce Department?s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) a key role in helping realize nationwide improvements in voting systems by January 2006. NIST?s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) is coordinating the agency?s HAVA efforts through its expertise in areas such as computer security and usability.

 The HAVA calls for the creation of an Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to oversee voting standards work. Reporting to the EAC will be the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC), which will make recommendations on voluntary standards and guidelines related to voting machines. NIST will provide technical support to the TGDC and the NIST Director will serve as its chairman.

 NIST?s role as chair of the TGDC has not yet begun. The TGDC reports
to the EAC established under the HAVA. The four candidates for
membership on the EAC have only recently been nominated and each one
must still be confirmed by the Senate.

 The Senate FY 2004 appropriations mark for NIST includes $500,000 for HAVA activities; the House mark does not provide funding. A House-Senate conference committee will work out a compromise appropriation bill ? including a resolution of the funding issue for NIST?s HAVA activities ? in the near future. That bill will be sent to the President for signature or veto.

 No standards based on any federal recommendations will be in place before the 2004 national elections.

 The voting reforms that result from the HAVA must be effective by Jan. 1, 2006.

 On that date, the HAVA requires that all voting systems used in federal elections:

    * Maintain voter privacy and ballot confidentiality;
    * Permit voters to verify their selections on the ballot, notify them of overvotes, and permit them to change their votes and correct any errors before casting the ballot; however, jurisdictions using paper ballot, punchcard, or central-count voting systems (including absentee and mail-in ballots) may instead use voter education and instruction programs for notification of overvotes;
    * Produce a permanent paper record for the voting system that can be manually audited and is available as an official record for recounts;
    * Provide to individuals with disabilities, including the blind and visually impaired, the same accessibility to voting as other voters;
    * Provide alternative language accessibility as required by law; and
    * Comply with the error rate standards in the federal voting system standards in effect on the date of enactment.

The HAVA also requires each state to adopt uniform standards defining what constitutes a vote and what will be counted as a vote for each certified voting system.

 Last updated: 10/24/03