National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C.      Vol. 33, No. 11 * June 4, 2001

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Improving our election system…

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(Editor’s Note: The following material is excerpted from the final report of the National Commission on Election Standards & Reform, created by NACo and the National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials and Clerks. The report was presented to NACo’s Board of Directors at its May meeting. This excerpt includes a complete list of the commission’s recommendations.)

The election system in our country is a complex system affected by many variables. When everything runs smoothly, the system hardly gets noticed. But when a close election occurs that reveals weaknesses in the system—as it did last November—the results can be quite dramatic.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials and Clerks (NACRC) responded quickly when the problems surfaced last fall because county governments are primarily responsible for administration of elections. We formed the National Commission on Election Standards & Reform (NCESR) to examine the nation’s election system and make recommendations for improvement.

The commission’s approach was to study the problems, identify probable causes, enumerate possible remedies and then develop recommendations. After five months of serious work, the result is this thorough, comprehensive report that provides recommendations for all three levels of government.

We believe that the recommendations in this report provide an excellent framework to improve America’s election system and restore public confidence in the system. We are committed to working toward having the entire set of recommendations implemented.

Introduction

… The 21-member commission includes county commissioners and election officials from across the United States, a state election director, the director of a state association of counties, experts in election administration, and representatives of the League of Women Voters, an Hispanic group and the NAACP. The commission heard from a number of speakers, reviewed a great deal of information, and engaged in lengthy debates and discussions.

In examining Election 2000, the commission focused on problems in voter access, voting systems, recount procedures, and the perception of partisanship in the operation of the system. To solve these problems all levels of government will have to devote more attention and resources to the administration of elections and voter registration.

This is not simply a matter of equipment replacement. Much can be accomplished through changes in policy and procedure. Education is critically important at all levels — from the rights and responsibilities of voters to professional development for administrators. The collection and comparison of performance data through time and across jurisdictions is necessary for evaluation. All of these activities require funding.

The commission recommends that reform should be undertaken within the present system rather than by creating new systems or imposing nationwide procedures on states and local governments.

In addition to having constitutional concerns, the commission believes that attempts at nationwide uniformity, such as a uniform national ballot or standard voting equipment, would be impractical, stifle innovation for the future, and greatly magnify the effects of unintended consequences. The beauty of federalism is that it allows experimentation.

The election system of the United States is large and complex with many interdependent parts, including political parties and campaigns, the media, voters, and numerous government agencies, which are not under the authority of election officials.

Coordination is difficult and changes in one part often produce unintended consequences in another. The conclusion the commission reached is that our nation should not look for a single dramatic solution but for a sustained effort to make improvements and eliminate sources of error.

Improvements can and should be made within the present system. Believing that a strong effort over time will be more productive and less likely to introduce new problems than an attempted quick fix, the commission offers the following recommendations for federal, state, and county governments.

Federal Responsibilities

1. A grant program to help state and local governments cover the costs for upgrading voter registration and voting systems (hardware, software, and related services and supplies)
2. An ongoing formula-based funding program to share the cost of the administration of federal elections, and
3. Assistance in mailing election-related materials as outlined below.

The funding for voting systems (program 1) should be based on application as local jurisdictions seek to replace equipment over time. They should apply to their state governments, which would consolidate requests to the federal government. Equipment purchased under this program must meet all applicable Federal Voting System Standards.

Funding for administration (program 2) should be distributed to local election jurisdictions based upon measures of election activity and financial need. This money would be provided every year without application.

We recommend that eligibility for either program be contingent upon a state having on file with its chief election officer a plan for providing equal opportunity to its citizens to vote and have their votes counted.

For assistance with mailing (program 3), the commission has adopted recommendations of the National Association of Secretaries of State for a new “Elections Class” of postage which would be rated at 50 percent of the rate of first class mail and include all entitlements and services of the first class mail designation. If the Postal Service changes the name or designation of first class mail, the Elections Class would automatically be tied to any successors of what is now termed first class mail.

Research and Dissemination of Information
The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Office of Election Administration already has the responsibilities to conduct or sponsor research on the administration of elections and to disseminate information. We recommend increased funding for these functions. We also recommend that the Office undertake the following projects:

• An immediate completion of the update and continuing maintenance of Federal Voting Systems Standards
• Research on vote residuals (overvotes and undervotes) associated with different voting systems
• Research on the ways in which voting equipment does or does not accommodate various disabilities
• Research on best operational practices for election and voter registration offices
• Creation of a central repository of information on voting equipment problems and solutions reported by election officials
• Evaluation of the practicality of demonstrating the use of voting equipment in the polling place by such devices as continuous loop video, and
• Collection and dissemination for use by state and local offices of educational materials for key audiences, e.g., voters, the press, poll workers, election officials.

Administration
Administration and awarding of grants should be separate from any agency that has enforcement responsibilities for compliance with voting and election laws. Responsibility for these programs should lie with the Office of Elections Administration whether it remains with the FEC or is made a separate agency.

Media Information
We strongly encourage the Federal Communication Commission to require broadcast media to run prime-time public service announcements to educate voters on how to participate in the election process.

State Responsibilities

Provisional Ballots
To address the problem of voter access, states should ensure that they have clear statutes regarding how a person is to be treated at the polling place if her or his name is not on the list of registered voters. We recommend that states adopt provisional ballots to be counted after voter eligibility is confirmed. Any person who casts a provisional ballot should receive notification if the ballot is not counted and the reason why. Anyone whose ballot is not counted should be automatically registered for the next election if he or she is eligible.

Restoration of Voting Rights
States should review their laws and procedures on the disqualification of voters to ensure that there is a method for restoration, if applicable, that it is streamlined to ensure fair access and timely decisions, and that restoration of voting rights is automatically communicated in writing to the restored voter.

Interagency Cooperation
In some states, agencies mandated to provide voter registration intake are not processing applications properly or in a timely manner. Improvements in this area would decrease registration failures. The problem of coordination is compounded by the fact that federal, state and local agencies plus private organizations are all involved. We urge that the states adopt legislation to ensure interagency compliance in this area.

Consolidated Voter Registration System
States should provide for the accumulation of statewide voter registration records that are updated on a regular basis and make such records readily accessible to local election officials.

Voter Education
Two critical steps in the election process that rely upon voter input are the submitting of a registration application and the act of voting. We recommend that state governments, acting in concert with local election officials, develop or acquire, and implement three types of voter education programs:

• Programs to inform citizens of registration requirements and voting rights
• Demonstration and written materials for use in general education programs on the correct use of voting equipment, and
• Hands-on training on the correct usage of voting equipment for use in polling places.

States should require vendors selling equipment in the state to develop and supply instructional materials and programs on the correct use of voting equipment.

Voting Systems
The choice of which systems to replace should be made at the state and local levels based upon an historical analysis of voting accuracy in each jurisdiction and an assessment of the public’s confidence in the current system. Only a statewide analysis will tell if some areas have significantly higher vote residuals than others and if this pattern has persisted over time.

Voting Procedures
States should adopt uniform procedures for each type of voting system used in the state. States also should develop uniform procedures for pre-testing and for public testing of ballot counting equipment.

Equipment Certification
All states should have provisions to certify and de-certify equipment for sale and use in the state in order to enforce standards of quality statewide and to meet Federal Voting System Standards.

Minimizing Errors
To minimize voting errors states should require that all new equipment used in polling places (as opposed to absentee voting or mail elections) either prevent overvotes or give the voter a warning and a chance to correct overvotes, a process known as “second chance voting.” Such equipment should also warn voters and give them a chance to correct undervotes, at least when ballots are read as completely blank. In addition, states should remove any prohibitions on the use of second chance voting on existing equipment.

In the interim we encourage states to adopt procedures for handling review of blank and over-voted ballots in central count systems.

What Constitutes a Vote
States should determine what constitutes a vote for each type of equipment before the equipment is used in an election. (This recommendation applies to absentee votes as well as votes cast in polling places.) Because of continued changes in equipment, we recommend that this determination be made through administrative rules having the force of law, rather than by statute. Too often legislative changes are not timely enough to keep up with technical advances and they sometimes result in conflicting mandates. However, the requirement for the determination and the procedure to be followed should be adopted in statute. The goal of this recommendation is to eliminate or drastically reduce the number of cases in which voter intent has to be interpreted after an election.

Evaluation
In order to evaluate and improve system performance, local jurisdictions and states should report the total number of electors admitted, number of ballots cast and the number of overvotes and undervotes

encountered in each election. Local jurisdictions should report such election data, as well as voting equipment problems and solutions, to the state’s chief election official.

Ballot certification deadlines
States should make ballot certification deadlines to be a minimum of 60 days prior to the election in order to allow adequate time for ballot layout and design and timely delivery to military and overseas personnel.

Postmarks for Military/Overseas Ballots
Fourteen states count military/overseas ballots received after the election as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day. The problem is that some ballots arrive without postmarks or with illegible postmarks. The commission recommends that states address this problem by providing timely delivery of ballots and requiring that the voted ballot be received at the election office by a date certain, thereby eliminating the need for postmarks.

Poll Workers
States should take steps to minimize the need for poll workers and to expand the pool of available poll workers by such actions as:

• Expanding the time frame for voting prior to Election Day
• Allowing poll workers to work in precincts other than where they vote
• Permitting and encouraging high school students to serve as poll workers under supervision
• Eliminating any requirements for appointing authorities to rely exclusively on political parties for the recruitment and selection of poll workers (This would not eliminate requirements for party balance but would empower election officials to recruit more widely.).
• Encouraging private and public employers to allow employees to serve as poll workers with full pay or with the difference between their regular pay and poll working pay, and
• Providing incentives that would encourage the public to serve as poll workers.

Alternatives to Voting in Polling Places
States might consider avoiding the many problems associated with voting in polling places by adopting alternatives such as voting by mail, one-time absentee ballots, on-going absentee ballots, overseas/military/out-of-state ballots, and early voting. Individual states will have to determine how well such arrangements fit their electoral traditions and cultures.

Postelection Procedures
States should provide for adequate time to complete the canvass of the election prior to any recount or contest.

Recounts
States should review and change, as necessary, all recount procedures to

• Eliminate ambiguous and conflicting mandates
• Provide that multijurisdictional recounts (e.g., of a Congressional district involving more than one jurisdiction) be supervised by the state’s chief election authority to ensure uniform standards throughout the area in question, and
• Provide adequate time for the completion of a recount as prescribed by state and federal law, which establishes Electoral College requirements.

Partisanship
While it is impossible to eliminate partisanship from the electoral process, public confidence requires that we minimize the chances that it will influence election outcomes. The greatest concern seems to come from decisions made on or after Election Day (when the partisan outcome is apparent) by elected or appointed officials with clear partisan identification. To this end we recommend that states

• Review election laws to eliminate ambiguity and conflict, especially in postelection procedures, and
• Support professional development and membership in professional associations and adoption of a code of ethics for all election officials as a counterweight to partisan influences.

Financial Assistance to Counties (or townships where they are the primary unit of election administration)
States, like the federal government, have a responsibility to ensure equal access to the electoral process and to pay their share of election costs. We recommend that states

• Provide an ongoing, formula-based funding program to share the cost of state elections
• Provide additional support for the training and professional development of local election officials
• Use any federal aid designated for elections to enhance programs rather than to supplant existing efforts, and
• Pass enabling legislation, if necessary, to allow municipalities and other jurisdictions to contract with counties for the provision of election services with full cost reimbursement.

County Responsibilities

Administration
The administration of elections is and must continue to be a local responsibility. In many cases, the responsibility is shared by the county governing body and one or more independently elected officials. Counties and their election officials must ensure that the laws governing elections are properly implemented, work with legislators to identify and change any laws that interfere with the goal of fair, accurate, and timely elections, and provide open and equal access to all eligible voters.

Funding
With regard to funding we recommend that counties

• Use federal and state aid to enhance election administration, including but not limited to the purchase of new election systems, without supplanting existing funds
• Recognize elections as a priority service in their budgets, and
• Adopt agreements for providing election services to states, municipalities and other jurisdictions on a shared cost-recovery basis (including indirect and overhead costs).

Personnel
Election officials register voters, design ballots, recruit and train poll workers, tabulate returns and perform myriad other necessary functions in the electoral process. As the job of election administration has become more complex, the need for qualified personnel with specialized training has increased dramatically. We recommend that counties

• Review job requirements, pay grades, and hiring practices for elections specialists to ensure that they reflect the level of expertise required
• Support through adequate resources for professional development for election staff, including education and certification opportunities offered
• by professional associations
• Provide adequate numbers of professional staff and temporary personnel to ensure timely and accurate completion of required election functions, and
• Support efforts to recruit and train qualified poll workers and other Election Day personnel.

Management Practices
Counties should provide opportunities for election officials to be knowledgeable of best management practices and innovations and adopt those that are best suited to the local jurisdiction.

Data Collection
Election offices should track statistics related to key functions in order to evaluate and improve current equipment and processes.

Voter Information
Local election administrators should take every opportunity, such as the use of web sites, to inform voters at key points in the registration/voting process, including:

• A receipt on the voter registration form that informs the voter when to expect confirmation of registration and who to contact if notification is not received
• Sample ballots and other appropriate information provided to registrants before each election
• Providing media releases and encouraging prime-time public service announcements by the local media telling registrants that sample ballots and other appropriate information are available and how to obtain them
• Special notices and education to inform voters of changes in voting equipment or ballot design, and
• Counties should review and revise, if necessary, voter registration forms to minimize errors and incomplete applications.

Election staff also should review application forms before applicants leave the premises to ensure accuracy.

Poll Workers
The services provided by poll workers could be improved by having a larger pool from which to draw, better pay, and improved training. On Election Day they must be able to obtain both technical and administrative assistance through the central office.

This seems to be a matter of resources, mainly communications equipment and enough knowledgeable personnel to handle multiple problems simultaneously. (Private companies might be asked to donate use of cell phones for polling places that do not have them, as has been done in Sacramento, Calif.) Poll workers should particularly be instructed in how to deal with voters whose names do not appear on the rolls.

Equipment
While the purchase of new equipment will be very helpful in many cases, it will not be possible in all jurisdictions. Counties must ensure proper storage, maintenance, and setup of equipment and the availability of technicians to solve any equipment problems that arise on Election Day. Voter education in the proper use of equipment is critical.

Ballot Design
Ballots must be designed in such a way as to minimize the possibility that voters will find them confusing. Local election officials should take full advantage of information on ballot design and usability to improve ballot design where needed.

Absentee Ballots
Instructions for absentee ballots should be clearly stated and rudimentary so that voters clearly understand voting directions and how they can correct their errors.

Voters with Disabilities
County officials must ensure that all polling places are accessible or, in unique cases where no accessible polling place can be found, allow voters with disabilities to choose a voting place that is accessible. Local election officials should work with disabled voters to identify the best affordable means by which they can cast their votes in polling places.

Language Difficulties
In addition to implementing multilingual ballot requirements under the Voting Rights Act, state and local governments should review laws, procedures, and poll worker training on assistance in voting so that people who need interpreters will be able to use them without difficulty.