28038 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 

including six new questions. The 

purpose of this notice is to allow an 

additional 30 days for public comments. 

Comments are encouraged and will be 

accepted until June 18, 2007. This 

process is conducted in accordance with 

5 CFR 1320.10. 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. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before June 18, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations on the proposed 

information collection should be sent to: 

OMB Reviewer: Alexander T. Hunt, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Room 10235, New Executive Office 

Building, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 

395–7316. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request more information on this 

proposed information collection or to 

obtain a copy of the proposal and 

associated collection instruments, 

please, write to the above address or call 

Ms. Karen Lynn-Dyson at (202) 566–

3100. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 

Study of the Feasibility and Advisability 

of Establishing a Program of Free Return 

or Reduced Postage for Absentee 

Ballots—Survey of Registered Voters. 

OMB Number: Pending. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Needs and Uses: Sec. 246 of the Help 

America Vote Act requires the Election 

Assistance Commission (EAC), in 

consultation with the United States 

Postal Service, to conduct a study of the 

feasibility and advisability of 

establishing a program under which the 

U.S. Postal Service shall waive or 

otherwise reduce the amount of postage 

applicable with respect to absentee 

ballots returned by voters in general 

elections for Federal office. This study 

does not address the cost to the U.S. 

Postal Service for free postage for 

sending absentee ballots but may 

consider costs to election officials that 

are related to implementing such a 

program including the costs of sending 

absentee ballots to voters. It also does 

not include consideration of the 39 

U.S.C. 3406 provisions for the mailing 

of balloting materials for military and 

overseas absentee voters. As part of the 

study the Commission is directed to 

conduct a survey of potential 

beneficiaries, including the elderly and 

disabled, and to take into account the 

results of this survey in determining the 

feasibility and advisability of 

establishing such a program. At the 

conclusion of the study effort, EAC is 

required to submit a report to Congress 

with recommendations for such 

legislative and administrative action as 

EAC determines appropriate. The report 

shall contain an analysis of the 

feasibility of implementing such a 

program and an estimate of the costs. 

Affected Public: U.S. Citizens. 

Number of Respondents: 1,200. 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Burden per Response: .25 

hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 300 hours. 

Information will be collected through 

a survey of U.S. citizens to determine 

the possible effect that a free and/or 

reduced cost absentee ballot postage 

program would have on voter 

participation. The sample will be 

designed in such a way so as to afford 

analysis of the results according to 

significant sub-groups including those 

living in states with high versus low 

rates of absentee voting and states with 

restrictive versus states with laws 

favoring absentee voting. The surveys 

will be representative of the U.S. 

population in the fifty U.S. states and 

will be conducted by phone using 

random digit dialing (RDD) technology. 

Within each contacted household, a 

respondent will be selected among all 

adults in the household aged 18 years 

and older. The following information 

will be requested from each respondent. 

1. Background Information 

The survey will gather data regarding 

each respondent’s background. 

Background information will include, 

the respondent’s location, the location 

of the respondent’s voter registration, 

age, ethnicity, education, income 

bracket, whether the respondent is 

living with a disability, and whether the 

respondent is currently an active-duty 

member of the armed forces (or a 

dependent thereof). 

2. Voting Information 

The survey will gather data regarding 

the respondent’s voting history. Voting 

information will include, registration 

status, whether the respondent voted in 

the 2006 Congressional election, 

whether the respondent voted in the 

2004 Presidential election, whether the 

respondent voted in the 2000 

Presidential election, the method the 

respondent voted in past elections (in 

person, by mail, absentee), whether the 

respondent is eligible to vote absentee 

(or whether the respondent does not 

know). 

3. Program Effect 

The survey will gather data from all 

respondents regarding the various 

effects that the establishment of this 

program would have on the targeted 

citizens. Questions on the program will 

cover (1) Whether the program will 

increase the likelihood that the 

respondent would use the absentee 

ballot process; (2) whether the program 

will increase the likelihood that the 

respondent would vote in a federal 

election; (3) whether the program will 

make it easier for the voter to participate 

in elections. 

Thomas R. Wilkey, 

Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 07–2465 Filed 5–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–KF–M 

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 

Information Collection Activity; Study 

of Voter Hotlines Operated by Election 

Offices 

AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC). 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission has submitted the 

following information collection request 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and clearance in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. The information 

collection was previously published in 

the Federal Register on February 7, 

2007, at 72 FR 5682. No comments were 

received during the 60-day public 

comment period; changes were made to 

collection instrument to improve and 

clarify the data being collected, 

including three new questions. The 

purpose of this notice is to allow an 

additional 30 days for public comments. 

Comments are encouraged and will be 

accepted until June 18, 2007. This 

process is conducted in accordance with 

5 CFR 1320.10. 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 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 28039 

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. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before June 18, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations on the proposed 

information collection must be sent to: 

OMB Reviewer: Alexander T. Hunt, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Room 10235, New Executive Office 

Building, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 

395–7316. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request more information on this 

proposed information collection or to 

obtain a copy of the proposal and 

associated collection instruments, 

please, write to the above address or call 

Ms. Karen Lynn-Dyson at (202) 566- 

3100. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Study of Voter Hotlines 

Operated by Election Offices. 

OMB Number: Pending. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Needs and Uses: Section 241(b)(9) of 

the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 

requires the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) to periodically study 

election administration issues, 

including methods of educating voters 

about the process of registering to vote 

and voting, the operation of voting 

mechanisms, the location of polling 

places, and all other aspects of 

participating in elections. Furthermore, 

Section 245(a)(2)(C) of HAVA indicates 

that the EAC may investigate the impact 

new communications or Internet 

technology systems used in the electoral 

process could have on voter 

participation rates, voter education, and 

public accessibility. In 2005, the EAC 

undertook a research study of voter 

hotline data available online to 

determine trends. A voter hotline was 

defined as a toll-free line that connects 

voters with elections offices, which then 

disseminate information and educate 

voters. The EAC found several hotlines 

in operation during the 2004 

Presidential election, and their 

sponsorship and capabilities varied to a 

great degree. To build on and augment 

these research findings, the EAC wishes 

to conduct a study to determine the 

current state of voter information 

hotlines that are operated by Federal, 

State, and local election offices. 

Affected Public: Federal, State, and 

local election offices. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1937. 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Burden per Response: .5 

hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 968.5 hours. 

Information will be collected through 

a survey of existing hotline services 

operated by Federal, State, and local 

government agencies and election 

offices during the 2006 primary and 

general elections. The data collected 

will include information on voter 

hotlines operated by election offices and 

their features, including, but not limited 

to: 

1. Basic Information. Hotline hours of 

operation, type of information available 

through the hotline, automated or nonautomated service, links to other 

sources of voting information. 

2. Costs. Breakdown of cost based on 

volume, cost of database maintenance 

per record, and all personnel and 

administrative costs of the service. 

3. Features. Important factors include, 

but are not limited to: (1) Languages 

used, (2) disability-compliant features, 

(3) touch tone and voice services, (4) 

voice response options, and (5) ability 

for interactivity with additional 

databases (for example interactivity 

with a voter registration database). 

4. Network Capacity. Number of calls 

capable of being routed per hour and the 

number of incoming calls that can be 

received. 

5. Call Tracking. How calls are logged 

or tracked, how they are routed, and the 

types or categories of calls received. 

6. Hotline personnel. Number of 

hotline operators and methods by which 

hotline operators are trained, the 

frequency of their training and how they 

are monitored for accuracy, currency, 

security, and other critical performance 

variables. 

7. Methods by which the network 

operator maintains the accuracy and 

currency of the data. Important factors 

include, but are not limited to how 

regularly updates are made and qualitycontrol procedures. 

8. Maintenance agreements with 

service providers. Percentage of hotlines 

that outsource all or part of the Hotline, 

and experiences working with 

contractors? 

9. Timelines for database creation, 

contractor integration, and final testing 

before launch. 

10. Security measures to ensure that 

data in the call-routing network is 

confidential. 

11. Other information such as: Who 

the intended audience is; demographic, 

political and socioeconomic information 

of the community served; cost of 

publicizing the service and effectiveness 

of various publicity methods; and 

lessons learned. 

A report on the key findings of the 

study, along with recommendations for 

the development and implementation of 

voter hotlines, will be made available to 

election officials and the public at the 

conclusion of this effort.The report will 

include a state-by-state compendium of 

the existing voter hotlines and their 

features. The report will be made 

available on the EAC Web site at 

http://www.eac.gov. 

Signed: 

Thomas R. Wilkey, 

Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 07–2466 Filed 7–17–07; 8:45am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–KF–M 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP07–380–000] 

Avista Corporation; Notice of 

Abbreviated Application for Order 

Authorizing Abandonment of Limited 

Jurisdiction Certificates 

May 14, 2007. 

On May 7, 2007, Avista Corporation 

(Avista Corp) filed an abbreviated 

application pursuant to section 7(b) of 

the Natural Gas Act (NGA), and part 157 

of the Commission’s Rules and 

Regulations, requesting authorization to 

abandon limited jurisdiction certificates 

of public convenience and necessity, 

originally issued in 1983 and 1990, 

under which Terasen Gas and Cascade 

Natural Gas Corporation temporarily 

used a portion of Avista Corp’s storage 

capacity and deliverability at the 

Jackson Prairie Storage Project. 

Any person desiring to intervene or to 

protest this filing must file in 

accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of 

the Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 

385.214). Protests will be considered by 

the Commission in determining the 

appropriate action to be taken, but will 

not serve to make protestants parties to 

the proceeding. Any person wishing to 

become a party must file a notice of 

intervention or motion to intervene, as 

appropriate. Such notices, motions, or 

protests must be filed on or before the 

date as indicated below. Anyone filing 

an intervention or protest must serve a 

copy of that document on the Applicant. 

Anyone filing an intervention or protest 

on or before the intervention or protest 

date need not serve motions to intervene 

or protests on persons other than the 

Applicant. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES