82 FR 42084 - Proposed Information Collection-2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey; Comment Request

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 171 (September 6, 2017)

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the EAC announces an information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. The EAC intends to submit this proposed information collection (2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey) to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The 2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey (Survey) asks election officials questions concerning voting and election administration. These questions request information concerning ballots cast; voter registration; overseas and military voting; Election Day activities; voting technology; and other important issues. The EAC issues the survey to meet its obligations under the Help America Vote Act to serve as national clearinghouse and resource for the compilation of information with respect to the administration of Federal elections; to fulfill both the EAC's and the Department of Defense Federal Voting Assistance Programs' (FVAP) quantitative State data collection requirements under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA); and meet its National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) mandate to collect information from states concerning the impact of that statute on the administration of Federal Elections.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42084-42086]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18876]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Proposed Information Collection--2018 Election Administration and 
Voting Survey; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
EAC announces an information collection and seeks public comment on the 
provisions thereof. The EAC intends to submit this proposed information 
collection (2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey) to the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The 2018 
Election Administration and Voting Survey (Survey) asks election 
officials questions concerning voting and election administration. 
These questions request information concerning ballots cast; voter 
registration; overseas and military voting; Election Day activities; 
voting technology; and other important issues. The EAC issues the 
survey to meet its obligations under the Help America Vote Act to serve 
as national clearinghouse and resource for the compilation of 
information with respect to the administration of Federal elections; to 
fulfill both the EAC's and the Department of Defense Federal Voting 
Assistance Programs' (FVAP) quantitative State data collection 
requirements under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 
Act (UOCAVA); and meet its National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) 
mandate to collect information from states concerning the impact of 
that statute on the administration of Federal Elections.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before 5:00 p.m. EST on 
November 6, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed information collection should be 
submitted electronically to [email protected]. Written comments 
on the proposed information collection can also be sent to the U.S. 
Election Assistance Commission, 1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: Election Administration and Voting 
Survey.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Survey: To obtain a free copy of the 
survey: (1) Email Sean Greene at the U.S. Election Assistance 
Commission at [email protected]; or (2) write to the EAC (including your 
address and phone number) at U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 1335 
East West Highway, Suite 4300, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: Election 
Administration and Voting Survey.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Sean Greene at 301-563-3919, or 
email [email protected], U.S. Election Assistance Commission 1335 East 
West Highway, Suite 4300, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Comments: Public comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

Needs and Uses

    The EAC issues the survey to meet its obligations under the Help 
America Vote Act (HAVA) to serve as national clearinghouse and resource 
for the compilation of information with respect to the administration 
of Federal elections; to fulfill both the EAC and FVAP's data 
collection requirements under the UOCAVA; and meet its NVRA mandate to 
collect information from states concerning the impact of that statute 
on the administration of Federal Elections. HAVA requires the EAC to 
serve as a national clearinghouse and resource for the compilation of 
information and review of procedures with respect to the administration 
of Federal Elections. This includes the obligation to study and report 
on election activities, practices, policies, and procedures, such as 
methods of voter registration, methods of conducting provisional 
voting, poll worker recruitment and training, and such other matters as 
the Commission determines are appropriate. In addition, under the NVRA, 
the EAC is responsible for collecting information and reporting, 
biennially, to the United States Congress on the impact of that 
statute. The information the States are required to submit to the EAC 
for purposes of the

[[Page 42085]]

NVRA report are found under Title 11 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations. States that respond to questions in this survey concerning 
voter registration related matters will meet their NVRA reporting 
requirements under 52 U.S.C. 20508 and EAC regulations. Finally, the 
UOCAVA mandates that the FVAP work with the EAC and State Chief 
Election officials to develop standards for reporting UOCAVA voting 
information (52 U.S.C. 20302) and that the FVAP will store the reported 
data and present the findings within the congressionally-mandated 
report to the President and Congress. Additionally, UOCAVA requires 
that ``not later than 90 days after the date of each regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office, each State and unit of 
local government which administered the election shall (through the 
State, in the case of a unit of local government) submit a report to 
the EAC on the combined number of absentee ballots transmitted to 
absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters for the election 
and the combined number of such ballots which were returned by such 
voters and cast in the election, and shall make such a report available 
to the general public.'' States that complete and timely submit the 
UOCAVA section of the survey to the EAC will fulfill their UOCAVA 
reporting requirement under 52 U.S.C. 20302. In order to fulfill the 
above requirements, the EAC is seeking information relating to the 
period from the Federal general election day 2016 +1 through the 
November 2018 Federal general election. The EAC will provide the data 
regarding UOCAVA voting to FVAP after data collection is completed. 
This data sharing reduces burden on local election offices because FVAP 
does not have to conduct its own data collection to meet its reporting 
requirements.
    Title and OMB Number: 2018 Election Administration and Voting 
Survey; OMB Number Pending.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: The survey requests 
information on a state- and county-level (or township-, independent 
city-, borough-level, where applicable) concerning the following 
categories:

Voter Registration Applications (From the Period of Federal General 
Election Day +1, 2016 Through Federal General Election Day, 2018)

    (a) Total number of registered voters;
    (b) Number of active and inactive registered voters;
    (c) Number of persons who registered to vote on Election Day--only 
applicable to States with Election Day registration;
    (d) Number of voter registration applications received from all 
sources;
    (e) Number of voter registration applications that were duplicates, 
invalid or rejected, new, changes of name, address, party, and not 
categorized;
    (f) Total number of removal/confirmation notices mailed to voters 
and the reason for removal;
    (g) total number of voters removed from the registration list or 
moved to the inactive registration list.

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)

    (a) Total number and type of registered and eligible UOCAVA voters;
    (b) Total number of Federal Post Card Applications (FPCAs) received 
by type of voter;
    (c) Total number of FPCAs rejected by type of voter;
    (d) Total number of FPCAs rejected after the absentee ballot 
request deadline;
    (e) Total number of UOCAVA absentee ballots transmitted by type of 
UOCAVA voter and mode of transmission;
    (f) Total number of transmitted UOCAVA ballots returned by type of 
UOCAVA voter and mode of transmission;
    (g) Total number of transmitted UOCAVA ballots counted by type of 
UOCAVA voter and mode of return;
    (h) Total number of transmitted UOCAVA ballots rejected by type of 
UOCAVA voter and reason for rejection;
    (i) Total number of FWABs received by type of voter;
    (j) Total number of FWABs rejected by type of voter; and
    (k) Total number of FWABs rejected by reason for rejection.

Domestic Civilian By-Mail Voting

    (a) Total number of by-mail ballots transmitted to voters;
    (b) Total number of ballots returned by voters;
    (c) Total number of ballots counted; and
    (d) Total number of ballots rejected, by reason for rejection.

Total Votes Cast and In-Person Voting

    (a) Total number of votes cast in the election, as well as in-
person on Election Day and during in-person early voting;
    (b) Total number of precincts in the state/jurisdiction;
    (c) Number of polling places available for early and Election Day 
voting in the November 2018 Federal general election;
    (d) Number of poll workers used during early voting and during 
Election Day voting;
    (e) The age of poll workers who worked in the election; and
    (f) Extent to which jurisdictions had enough poll workers available 
for the general election.

Provisional Voting

    (a) Number of provisional ballots cast, counted, and rejected; and
    (b) Reasons for provisional ballot rejection.

Election Technologies

    (a) Use of electronic and printed poll books during the 2018 
Federal general election; and
    (b) Type and number of voting equipment used for the 2018 Federal 
general election for precinct, absentee, early vote site, accessible to 
disabled voters, provisional voting.

Statutory Overview (2018 Federal General Election)

    (a) Who answers the questions in each section of the EAVS;
    (b) Description of the state's voter registration database system;
    (c) Description of the types of electronic data connections the 
state has with various other government entities;
    (d) Information on whether the state has online voter registration, 
automatic voter registration, and same day voter registration;
    (e) Type of absentee voting and early voting regime the state has;
    (f) Information on whether the state has vote centers;
    (g) If the state accepts provisional ballots from voters registered 
in a different precinct;
    (h) The type of election audit regime the state has;
    (i) The type of voter identification regime the state has; and
    (j) The voting eligibility requirements for individuals who have 
been convicted of a felony.
    Affected Public (Respondents): State or local governments, the 
District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands.
    Affected Public: State or local government.
    Number of Respondents: 55.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Burden per Response: 150 hours per collection, 75 hours 
annualized.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,250 hours per collection, 
4,125 hours annualized.

[[Page 42086]]

    Frequency: Biennially.

Bryan Whitener,
Director of National Clearinghouse on Elections, U.S. Election 
Assistance Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-18876 Filed 9-5-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-71-P