# Presentation: 119295

## U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Research Activities
2007 Year-End Report

**Research Activities**
**2007 Year-End Report**

## 2007 Research Activities - Overview

- EAC’s goal is to satisfactorily conduct and report to Congress on various research studies detailed in HAVA.
- Approximately $1.1 million of EAC’s $14 million 2007 budget was devoted to research studies and surveys.
- EAC research results in guidance and guidelines, in the identification of best and current practices in elections, and in collecting and disseminating key data on the conduct and administration of elections.
- To date, EAC has undertaken or completed 17 major research projects.

## Overview of 2007 EAC Research Activities 

- The following studies and subsequent reports were undertaken and completed in 2007:
**Impact of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) 2005-2006 Data Collection and Report.**
**Uniformed Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act (UOCAVA)  Survey Report Findings.**
**The 2006 Election Admin. and Voting Survey Report Summary of Key Findings.**
**Best Practices of Election Poll Workers**
**Successful Practices for Recruitment, Training and Retention Guidebook**
**A Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers**
**Compendium of State Poll Worker Requirements**
**Effective Designs for the Admin. of Federal Elections Research Findings and Report.**
**UOCAVA Study:  Electronic Transmission and Receipt of Voting Materials**
**International Survey of UOCAVA Voters**
**UOCAVA Case Studies**
**UOCAVA National Conference**

## Continued Overview of 2007 EAC Research Activities 

- The following studies and subsequent reports were undertaken and completed in 2007:
**First-Time Voters Who Register to Vote by Mail Study**
**Case Studies on the Impact of HAVA Requirements**
**Focus Group findings**
**Voter Hotlines Study Report**
**Voter Information Websites Study**
**Free Absentee Ballot Return Postage Study **
- National survey** **results
- Focus group findings
**Alternative Voting Study **
- Case studies on various methods
- National survey of voters
**National Academy of Sciences’ ongoing study of  the Implementation of Statewide Voter Registration databases.**

## NVRA, UOCAVA and 2006 Election Day Survey Reports

## The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act Report

**This report, that EAC is Congressionally-mandated to provide, was delivered to Congress on June 29, 2007.**
**The report was compiled using the data and statistics gathered through in EAC’s 2006 Election Administration and Voting Survey.**
**Highlights from the 2006 report include:**
**An overall increase in voter registration from 2002 to at least 172.8 million registrants, although there were nearly 176.2 million registered voters in 2004.**
**States reported a total of 36.3 million voter registration applications processed. **
**Nearly 17.3 million applications were valid new registrations.**

## UOCAVA Survey Report Findings

**EAC is also Congressionally-mandated to report to Congress on UOCAVA voters after each General Election. **
**This report was compiled based on states’ response to six questions contained in the EAC Election Administration and Voting Survey.**
**Based on States’ reporting it was found that for the 2006 election:**
**At least 992,034 UOCAVA-related absentee ballots were requested.**
**Slightly more than 330,000 UOCAVA ballots were cast or counted.**

## The 2006 Election Admin. and Voting Survey

**Today, EAC will release the findings from its 2006 Election Administration and Voting Survey .**
**This effort represents the most comprehensive collection and reporting of election administration data done by a Federal agency in collaboration with the 55 U.S. states and territories.**
**Key findings from this report include:**
**Slightly more than 82 million ballots were cast or counted in the 2006 election.**
**Overall, 39.8 percent of the nation’s citizen voting age population participated in the 2006 election.**
**78.4 percent of the votes cast or counted in a polling place on election day.**
**6.4 percent of votes were cast or counted as an early vote.**
**1.0 percent of the votes that were cast or counted were provisional votes.**

## Poll WorkersGeneral, College and Compendium of State Requirements

##  Successful Practices for Recruitment, Training and RetentionGuidebook for Poll Workers

**In July 2007 EAC published this Guidebook for Pollworkers.  **
**It is the culmination of a 17-month applied research study in which feedback on successful, best practices for poll worker recruitment, training and retention were gathered from hundreds of sources and field-tested in three locations during the 2006 election.**
**The 220-page Guidebook contains dozens of successful tips and samples of materials to use when working with poll workers.**
**The Guidebook, now in its second printing, will be distributed to over 5,000 local election officials by December 30, 2007.**

## Poll Workers A Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers

**This Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers was also published by EAC in July 2007.**
**This Guidebook was also the result of a 17-month applied research project in which the materials were field-tested with three colleges that partnered with their local jurisdictions during the 2006 election.**
**This 60-page Guidebook describes various best practices for successfully recruiting college students, creating a student poll worker program, as well as effective methods for building on the special strengths and skills of students.**

## Poll Workers Compendium of State Poll Worker Requirements

**This 175-page Compendium, published in August 2007, contains for each of the 55 states and territories, a brief description of the legal requirements and statutes that pertain to the use of poll workers.**
**The Compendium also contains a 15-page summary of  state and territory poll worker requirements on certain key factors.**

## Effective Designs for the Admin. of Federal Elections

## Effective Designs for the Admin. of Federal Elections

**In July 2007 EAC published the results of an 18-month project that created and field-tested well-designed polling place signs and ballot designs.  These designs were tested for their usability with hundreds of voters and were used during Nebraska’s 2006 state election.**
**Over 600 polling place signs (many in Spanish and Chinese, as well as English) have been created by nationally-recognized design experts and are available to election officials for their use.**
**These design experts also created a series of ballot designs in English, Chinese and Spanish for use with Optical scan, Full-face DRE and Rolling DRE machines.**
**Compact discs containing this information were distributed in a first printing in July 2007.  A second printing, in December 2007, will distribute the design CDs to over 5,000 local jurisdictions.**

## UOCAVA Studyof the Electronic Transmission of Voting Materials

**This year-long inquiry into states’ experiences serving UOCAVA voters and UOCAVA voters’ experiences with voting  culminated with a national conference attended by election officials and organizations serving these voters.  The conference was held in Washington, D.C in September, 2007.**
** ****A series of case studies describing UOCAVA voting in Illinois, Florida, South Carolina and Montana, along with a series of Best Practice Recommendations for serving UOCAVA voters is scheduled to be published in early 2008.**
**The results of an international survey of over 5,000 UOCAVA voters, along with the proceedings from the September conference,  is also forthcoming in 2008.**

## First-Time Voters Study

## First-Time Voters Study

**This fifteen-month study of the Impact of HAVA Identification Requirements on First Time Voters has resulted in a series of case studies describing how these voters are handled  in Indiana, Massachusetts, Montana and New Jersey along with recommendations for how to best serve these voters.**
**A series of three focus groups conducted with  first time voters who had registered by mail and voted in person on Election Day 2006 were held in spring 2007.**
**The results and key findings of this study are scheduled to be presented during the NASS winter meeting in Washington, D.C.**

## Voter Hotlines Study

**Research undertaken to identify government-sponsored voter hotlines and to identify and describe the major characteristics of these voter hotlines is scheduled to be completed in December, 2007.**
**Preliminary findings from this study of government –sponsored voter hotlines is indicating that a very limited number of states, counties cites and townships maintain such hotlines.**
**Findings from this study will be presented at an EAC public meeting in early 2008.**

## Free Absentee Ballot Return Postage Study

**This fifteen-month study, scheduled to be completed in January 2008, involved close consultation and coordination with USPS staff and officials.  **
**The study consisted of conducting a series of focus groups with low-income, elderly and disabled voters and**
**conducting a national survey of over 3,000 voters to query their opinions on the impact that free-absentee postage would have on their voting behavior.**
**The results of these focus groups and survey findings, along with  information on the projected costs for providing free-absentee postage to voters, are scheduled to be presented during the NASS winter meeting in Washington, DC.**

## Alternative Voting Methods Study

**The findings from of this 15-month study are scheduled to be completed in January 2008.**
**The study consists of a series of case studies that explore particular state’s experiences with alternative voting practices including:**
**Election day as a holiday**
**Weekend voting**
**Early voting **
**Vote by mail**
** ****Voter centers and **
**Puerto Rico’s experiences with various alternative voting practices **
** ****The study also includes a national survey of over 5,000 voter’s their captures their attitudes regarding alternative voting practices.**
**The results of this study are scheduled to be presented during the NASS winter meeting in Washington, DC.**

## National Academy of SciencesOngoing Study of the Implementation of Statewide Voter Registration Databases

**This three-year project with the National Academy has to-date resulted in two workshops on voter registration databases.  The first workshop was  held in early August 2007, the second in late November 2007.**
**The Academy has assembled a  15-member study committee comprised of election officials, academics and computer science experts who are charged with reviewing a wide range of information and data that can assist with developing and maintaining accurate, up-to-date and secure voter registration databases.**
**The committee and the Academy are charged with issuing an interim report to EAC in March 2008 that will make general recommendations regarding states’ use and maintenance of voter registration databases during the 2008 election season.**

## Summary of current research studies under way (FY 06 funds)

**Vote count/recount procedures**- EAC will issue Best Practices in Vote Counts, Recounts and Challenges.  EAC anticipates a release of the study’s findings which outline vote count and recount procedures, including benchmark procedures and best practice models in 2008.

- Other EAC research studies under way

## Summary of current research studies under way (FY 06 funds)

**Voter information websites** -The results of this year-long study of the various formats and types of website based voter information have been summarized in a draft report.  EAC anticipates release of the report’s findings and recommendations for best practices for voter information websites to be available in 2008.

- Other EAC research studies under way

## Taking EAC’s research into a practical realm through outreach and technical assistance to election officials.

Through our clearinghouse of research information provide election officials with important data and material on voting systems, election laws, policies and procedures and on innovations in election administration.

Providing the elections community with the necessary data and information to assist them with their 2008 Presidential election preparations.

- Through our clearinghouse of research information provide election officials with important data and material on voting systems, election laws, policies and procedures and on innovations in election administration.
- Providing the elections community with the necessary data and information to assist them with their 2008 Presidential election preparations.

- EAC FY 08 research goals and priorities