5682 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 7, 2007 / Notices 

Advisory Committee is available on the 

Committee’s Web site, www.ed.gov/ 

ACSFA. 

Dated: February 1, 2007. 

Dr. William J. Goggin, 

Executive Director, Advisory Committee on 

Student Financial Assistance. 

[FR Doc. 07–531 Filed 2–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–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 EAC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on a proposed 

information collection. 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, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (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. Comments submitted in 

response to this notice will be 

summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval of this 

information collection; they also will 

become a matter of public record. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before April 6, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments and 

recommendations on the proposed 

information collection in writing to the 

U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 

1225 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 

1100, Washington, DC 20005, ATTN: 

Ms. Laiza N. Otero (or via the Internet 

at lotero@eac.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request more information on this 

proposed information collection or to 

obtain a copy of the survey instrument, 

please, write to the above address or call 

Ms. Laiza N. Otero at (202) 566–3100. 

You may also view the proposed 

collection instrument by visiting our 

Web site at www.eac.gov. 

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. At the time 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. The definition of voter hotline 

has been broadened to include data 

from government agencies that employ 

non-toll free interactive phone systems 

to provide services to voters and 

pollworkers and to receive information 

from callers. 

Affected Public: Federal, State, and 

local election offices. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

6,500. 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Burden per Response: 1 

hour. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 6,500 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 

reqularly 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. 

Thomas R. Wilkey, 

Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 07–533 Filed 2–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–KF–M 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES