Interesting interview with an Election Assistance Commission spokesperson. <read>
What role does the EAC have in dealing with election systems that are currently being used in the U.S. albeit not certified by the EAC? EAC does not have any regulatory authority over states with respect to the voting systems they use. All of EAC voting system programs are voluntary. HAVA very clearly states that EAC has no regulatory authority, except regarding the National Voter Registration Act.
Includes an extensive listing of information in their clearing house. Also a reminder that it is the public comment period for their Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. Next month I will review the guidelines and comment on them to the EAC. I would encourage everyone to take a look at them and reach their own conclusions.
- EAC posted its 2005 voluntary voting system guidelines, and just launched an online comment tool for the next iteration of voluntary voting system guidelines. Comments submitted are also available to the public. In addition, the Commission adopted a policy to establish a voting system reports clearinghouse, which is available here.
There is a lot of material in the interview but it seems to be loaded with excuses for not doing all that much, which I can only assume is a reasonable representation of the EAC’s actual value. See a critique of the operation of the clearinghouse in the same newspaper <read>  Related to the Diebold Premier memory card failure story we have been following <here>
