The United States Senate Committee on Rules & Administration held a hearing today entitled “An Overview from the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.” In attendance were Chairman Charles Schumer (D-NY), Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Sen. Angus King (D-ME). The panelists were Bob Bauer and Benjamin Ginsberg, the Co-Chairs of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, which released its much-anticipated Report and Recommendations on January 22, 2014.
Project Vote was glad to see that many important issues were addressed during the hearing, in addition to the more-publicized problem with long lines. (But in case you missed it, in the 2012 election, approximately 10 million people waited in line for more than 30 minute to vote, and half of those waited an hour or longer.)
First, Sen. Klobuchar raised the issue of same day voter registration, noting that Minnesota has same day registration as well as a proud tradition of high voter turnout that is comparable to many of the states that also have same day voter registration policies. Same day voter registration has many benefits, including reducing the number of provisional ballots that need to be cast, remedying inaccurate voter registration lists, and eliminating deadlines that prevent people from registering to vote just when they are likely to become most interested in an election. Mr. Ginsberg voiced a concern that creating same day voter registration in states that do not currently allow it would lead to an increase in long lines, but the fact that some states have successfully implemented same day voter registration–as well as the fact that many delays are actually caused by people who are not on the voter list or are incorrectly registered and therefore must cast a provisional ballot–would seem to belie this concern.
Second, Mr. Bauer noted that there are ongoing, serious problems with jurisdictions not complying with various voting laws, including the access provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the language provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and the public assistance and motor vehicle provisions of the National Voter Registration Act. Project Vote has been a national leader in working to bring states into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, and has filed lawsuits in nine states since 2008 toward that end. While much progress has been made, there is still much to achieve, and we hope that state election administrators will heed the Commission’s concern in this area.
Third, Mr. Ginsberg addressed the problem that many jurisdictions face in finding enough reliable polling place volunteers and training them properly. Election officials lament how hard it is to recruit volunteers, so Mr. Ginsberg encouraged allowing high school and college students to volunteer, as well as the idea that businesses should encourage employees to take the day off of work to volunteer. Some jurisdictions already have such programs in place. For example, Orange County, California and Sarasota County, Florida have programs to encourage high school students to serve as polling place volunteers.
Fourth, the panel addressed early voting. Sen. Roberts noted that 32 states have some form of early voting, and Mr. Ginsberg noted that states with both Republican and Democratic governors have it, and that it is here to stay. Mr. Bauer stated that voters increasingly resist the notion of all being funneled through a polling place on one day, and that a single day for voting is less feasible from an election administration viewpoint and contributes to lines. Moreover, people who vote early are the people who have already made up their minds and are unlikely to be swayed by later developments in the campaign. Mr. Ginsberg added that voters increasingly expect and demand the option of early voting, and it can help election administrators with the efficient use of their resources. However, in his opinion, individual states have the best vantage point for deciding how long an early voting period should be offered.
Fifth, online voter registration was discussed as a way to better ensure that voter registration lists are accurate and up-to-date. Sen. Schumer noted that 19 states have online voter registration, and he wanted to know why the other 31 states do not. Mr. Bauer responded that there are not any real barriers to online voting systems—there is a small up-front cost, but a net savings over time—but that it nonetheless takes some time for the necessary discussions to happen on the state level. In Mr. Bauer’s opinion, online voter registration will “move irresistibly across the country,” and the Commission plans to make the case for it whenever and wherever it can.
Sixth, Mr. Ginsberg raised the issue of having adequate facilities to serve as polling places. In many communities, the best options are schools, because they are conveniently located and are ADA-compliant. However, many schools are wary of serving as polling places because they do not want to place students at risk by having a lot of strangers on the property. This concern has arisen largely in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. While the safety of students should of course be school administrators’ top priority, the Commission has a simple solution: Make Election Day an in-service day for students. Schools already schedule several in-service days each year (these are days when students have the day off, but teachers still come to school for training or to perform administrative duties), so students will not miss any additional days of class. Sen. Klobuchar noted that many schools in Minnesota follow this process and that it is very effective. (On a personal note, one of our Project Vote attorneys attended a school that did the same thing. She credits this in part for her love of elections, because Election Day was always a holiday in her mind, and she was able to go with family members to the polls and watch them vote, thus reinforcing its importance.)
Finally, the issue of technology came up repeatedly. As Mr. Ginsberg noted, most of the machines currently in use were purchased 10 years ago with funding from the Help America Vote Act, and those same machines will not last another 10 years. There is a process for federal certification of voting machines and technology, but it is ineffective because the agency responsible for the certification process—the Election Assistance Commission—does not have any commissioners. As a result, the process is very slow and expensive for manufacturers, and two counties—Los Angeles County, California and Travis County, Texas—are currently working to build their own machines. According to Mr. Bauer, we would not have encountered this problem if the EAC were fully functioning, but it is a serious problem that needs to be addressed quickly.
Mr. Ginsberg suggested making a body of state election directors responsible for certification, which was the process before the EAC was created, but of course another solution is to take the less drastic action of appointing commissioners and allowing the EAC to function as envisioned by current federal law. The Senate Committee on Rules & Administration will have the opportunity to take a step in that direction today when it votes on the nominations of Thomas Hicks and Myrna Perez to serve as commissioners on the EAC. Their nominations have been pending since 2010 and 2011, respectively. If successful, the nominations will go to the full Senate for a vote.
For a recent blog post by Project Vote Legislative Director Estelle Rogers about the release of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s Report and Recommendations, see here.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, the Senate Committee on Rules & Administration could not reach a quorum today. It is a shame that the committee was in a position to do something about the EAC today, but failed to act. We hope the Committee will act soon.