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CHARTER OF THE

U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 

BOARD OF ADVISORS

1. Official Designation. The Board of Advisors.

2. Authority. In accordance with the requirements of 52 U.S.C. § 20941, Title II, Subtitle A, 

Part 2, Section 211 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (“HAVA” or the “Act”) [Public Law 

107-252], the Election Assistance Commission (“EAC” or “Commission”) hereby charters the 

Board of Advisors (the “Board”), and establishes the Board in accordance with the provisions 

of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (“FACA”), as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2.

3. Objectives and Scope of Activities. The objective of the Board is to advise the EAC 

through review of the voluntary voting systems guidelines (“VVSG”) described in TitleII Part 3 

of HAVA, including updates to the VVSG; through review of the voluntary guidance described 

under Title III, Subtitle B of HAVA; and through the review of the best practices 

recommendations contained in the report submitted under Title II, Part 3, Subtitle C, Section 

242(b) of HAVA.

4. Description of Duties. The Board will function solely as an advisory body and will comply 

fully with the provisions of FACA, its regulations, and other relevant legal authorities such as 

Presidential Memoranda and Office of Management and Budget guidance. The Board may, by 

simple majority vote, adopt resolutions and make recommendations. Such resolutions and 

recommendations will be advisory only to the EAC and will be restricted to the EAC's activities 

described in Title II, Subtitle A, Part I, Section 204 and Part 2, Section 212 of the Help America 

Vote Act of 2002 HAVA.

5. Agency or Official to whom the Committee Reports. The Board will report tothe EAC 

through the Designated Federal Officer (“DFO”).

6. Support. The EAC shall be responsible for providing financial and administrative support to

the Board. The EAC will provide liaison services between the Board and the Advisory Panel 

Secretariat.

7. Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years. he annual cost for operating the 

Board is estimated at $202,673.64, which includes 0.7 staff year for support services.

8. Designated Federal Officer. Pursuant to FACA, the DFO (and alternate DFO) shall bea 

full-time or permanent part-time federal employee, appointed in accordance with EAC 

procedures. The DFO must approve or call all Board meetings, approve the agenda for all

meetings and subcommittee meetings, attend all Board meetings, adjourn any meetings when 

the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and chair Board meetings in the 

absence of the designated Chair when directed to do so by the official to whom the Board 

reports.

9. Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings. Pursuant to Title II, Subtitle A, Part 2, 

Section 215(a) of HAVA, the Board will meet a minimum of once a year for the purposes of 

voting on the voluntary voting system guidelines VVSG referred to it under Title II, Subtitle A, 

Part 3, Section 222 of HAVA. Additional meetings may be called at such other times as the 
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Board, in consultation with the DFO, or the DFO considers appropriate for the purposes of 

conducting other business as it considers appropriate consistent with HAVA.

10. Duration. The duration of the Board is continuing.

11. Termination. The Board is subject to a biennial review and will become inactive two years 

from the filing date of the charter, unless, prior to that date, it is renewedin accordance with 

Section 14 of FACA. The Commission's Organizational Management Policy Statement 

ensures that the charter may be renewed every two years according to the procedures in 

section IV, which provide for ongoing operation of the Commission's Boards and Technical 

Committee (adopted 2-24-15). The Board will not meet or take any action without a valid 

current charter.

12. Membership and Designation.

1. The Board's members will be designated in accordance with U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics designations as either: Representative, Regular Government Employee, or Special 

Government Employee and shall consist of:

• Two (2) members appointed by the National Governors Association;

• Two (2) members appointed by the National Conference of State Legislatures;

• Two (2) members appointed by the National Association of Secretaries of State;

• Two (2) members appointed by the National Association of State ElectionDirectors;

• Two (2) members appointed by the National Association of Counties;

• Two (2) members appointed by the United States Conference of Mayors;

• Two (2) members appointed by the Election Center;

• Two (2) members appointed by the United States Commission on CivilRights;

• Two (2) members appointed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers 

Compliance Board under Section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. §

792);

• The chief of the Office of Public Integrity of the Department of Justice, or thechiefs 

designee;

• The chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Departmentof 

Justice or the chiefs designee;

• The director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the Department ofDefense;

• Four (4) members representing professionals in the field of science and technology,of 

whom –

• one (1) each shall be appointed by the Speaker and the Minority Leader ofthe 

House of Representatives; and
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• one (1) each shall be appointed by the Majority Leader and theMinority 

Leader of the Senate

• Eight (8) members representing voter interests, of whom –

• four (4) members shall be appointed by the Committee on House

Administration of the House of Representatives, of whom two shall be 

appointed by the chair and two shall be appointed by the ranking minority 

member; and

• four (4) members shall be appointed by the Committee on Rules and 

Administration of the Senate, of whom two shall be appointed by the chair and 

two shall be appointed by the ranking minority member.

Amendment to the Membership status: The following two associations – the 

“National Association of County Recorders, Election Administrators, and Clerks” 

and the “International Association of County Recorders, Election Officials, and 

Treasurers” merged into a single association referred to as the “International 

Association of Government Officials”. The successor association will have the 

ability to appointtwo (2) members to the Board of Advisors.

Impact of the Amendment: The merger of the two associations into one reduced the 

membership of the Board of Advisors from 37 to 35. However this reduction in 

membership does not have a negative impact on the operation and function of the 

Board of Advisors, nor does it hinder HAVA's intent of ensuring that the 

appointments to the Board of Advisors be made in a manner which ensures the 

Bipartisan nature of the Board and reflects the various geographic regions of the 

United States.

2. Vacancy appointments shall be made in the same manner as the original appointments.

3. Members of the Board shall serve for a term of two (2) years and may be reappointed.

4. The Board shall elect a Chair from among its members.

5. Members of the Board will not be compensated for their services but will, upon

request, be reimbursed for or provided with travel and per diem expenses in accordance 

with 5 U.S.C. § 5701 et seq., while attending Board meetings or subcommittee meetings 

thereof, while away from their homes or regular places of business.

13. Subcommittees. The Commission, through the DFO Consultation with the

Board, may establish such subcommittees of the Board members as may be

necessary.

14. Recordkeeping. The records of the Board, formally and informally established 

subcommittees, or other subgroups of the Board, shall be handled in accordance with 

General Records Schedule 6.2, Item 2 or the EAC records disposition schedule. These 

records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552.
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CHARTER FILING DATE:

This Charter was filed on the 13th day of April 2023.

Signed: 

Christy McCormick

Chair, Election Assistance Commission