[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 18 (Thursday, January 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4879-4880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1809]


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ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Election Assistance Commission's Voting System Testing 
and Certification Program Manual, Version 1.0

AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

ACTION: Notice; comment request.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on EAC's request to renew an existing information collection, EAC's 
Voting System Testing and Certification Program Manual, Version 1.0. 
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 
included in the request for approval of this information collection by 
the Office of Management and Budget; they also will become a matter of 
public record. This notice requests comments solely on the four 
criteria above. Note: This notice solicits comments on the currently-
used Manual, Version 1.0 only. Due to lack of a quorum, EAC will 
postpone making changes to Version 1.0 of the Manual until such a time 
as a quorum is re-established. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, below.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT 
on March 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments and recommendations on the proposed information 
collection must be submitted in writing through either: (1) 
electronically to [email protected]; via mail to Mr. Brian 
Hancock, Director of Voting System Testing and Certification, U.S. 
Election Assistance Commission, 1201 New York Avenue, NW., Suite 300, 
Washington, DC 20005; or via fax to (202) 566-1392. An electronic copy 
of the manual, version 1.0, may be found on EAC's Web site at http://www.eac.gov/open/comment.aspx.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection, please contact Mr. Brian Hancock, 
Director, Voting System Testing and Certification, Washington, DC, 
(202) 566-3100, Fax: (202) 566-1392.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In this notice, EAC seeks comments on the paperwork burdens 
contained in the current version of the Voting System Testing and 
Certification Program Manual, Version 1.0 OMB Control Number 3265-0004 
only. Version 1.0 is the original version of the Manual without changes 
or updates. EAC is requesting an emergency extension for Version 1.0 
and will abandon its Paperwork Reduction Act request for version 2.0 of 
the Manual at this time.
    When EAC drafted Version 1.0 of the Manual in 2006, the agency 
sought input from experts and stakeholders. Specifically, EAC conducted 
meetings

[[Page 4880]]

with representatives from the voting system test laboratory and voting 
system manufacturing community. The Commission also held a public 
hearing in which it received testimony from State election officials, 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, academics, 
electronic voting system experts, public interest groups, and the 
public at large.
    In a notice dated November 30, 2010, EAC previously requested 
comments on a proposed new version of the Manual, Version 2.0. After 
EAC published its request for comments on Version 2.0, the agency lost 
its quorum. As a result, EAC has chosen to postpone implementing 
Version 2.0 of the Manual until such time as the Commission has a 
quorum again. At that point, EAC will start the Paperwork Reduction Act 
process from the beginning on Version 2.0 of the Manual. Soliciting 
comments through an emergency extension will permit EAC to continue to 
use the Control Number assigned to Version 1.0.

Current Information Collection Request, Version 1.0

    Title: Voting System Testing and Certification Program, Version 
1.0.
    OMB Number: 3265-0004.
    Type of Review: Emergency Extension.
    Needs and Uses: Section 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(HAVA), 42 U.S.C. 15371(a), requires EAC to ``provide for the testing, 
certification, decertification, and recertification of voting system 
hardware and software by accredited laboratories.'' To fulfill this 
mandate, EAC has developed and implemented the Voting System Testing 
and Certification Program Manual, Version 1.0. This version is 
currently in use under OMB Control Number 3265-0004. EAC had hoped to 
finalize a revised Manual prior to the expiration of the current 
manual's control number. However, due to lack of a quorum, EAC will 
continue using the existing manual, version 1.0, necessitating this 
action. Although participation in the program in voluntary, adherence 
to the program's procedural requirements is mandatory for participants.
    Affected Public: Voting system manufacturers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 8.
    Total Annual Responses: 8.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 200 hours.

Thomas R. Wilkey,
Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
[FR Doc. 2011-1809 Filed 1-26-11; 8:45 am]
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