[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 7758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02688]


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ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Proposed Information Collection--2020 Election Administration and 
Voting Survey; Comment Request

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
EAC announces an information collection and seeks public comment on the 
provisions thereof. The EAC intends to submit this proposed information 
collection (2020 Election Administration and Voting Survey, or EAVS) to 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The 
2020 EAVS asks election officials questions concerning voting and 
election administration, including the following topics: Voter 
registration; overseas and military voting; voting by mail; early in-
person voting; polling operations; provisional voting; voter 
participation; election technology; election policy; and other related 
issues.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before March 12, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed information collection should be 
submitted electronically via https://www.regulations.gov (docket ID: 
EAC-2019-0001). Written comments on the proposed information collection 
can also be sent to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 1335 East 
West Highway, Suite 4300, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: EAVS.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Survey: To obtain a free copy of the draft 
survey instrument: (1) Download a copy at https://www.regulations.gov 
(docket ID: EAC-2019-0001); or (2) write to the EAC (including your 
address and phone number) at U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 1335 
East West Highway, Suite 4300, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: EAVS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Nichelle Williams at 301-563-3919, 
or email [email protected]; U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 
1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Comments: Public 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; (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, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Title and OMB Number: 2020 Election Administration and Voting 
Survey; OMB Number Pending.

Needs and Uses

    The EAC issues the EAVS to meet its obligations under the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to serve as national clearinghouse and 
resource for the compilation of information with respect to the 
administration of Federal elections; to fulfill both the EAC and the 
Department of Defense Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) data 
collection requirements under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA); and meet its National Voter Registration 
Act (NVRA) mandate to collect information from states concerning the 
impact of that statute on the administration of Federal elections. In 
addition, under the NVRA, the EAC is responsible for collecting 
information and reporting, biennially, to Congress on the impact of 
that statute. The information the states are required to submit to the 
EAC for purposes of the NVRA report are found under Title 11 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations. States that respond to questions in this 
survey concerning voter registration-related matters will meet their 
NVRA reporting requirements under 52 U.S.C. 20508 and EAC regulations. 
Finally, UOCAVA mandates that FVAP work with the EAC and chief state 
election officials to develop standards for reporting UOCAVA voting 
information (52 U.S.C. 20302) and that FVAP will store the reported 
data and present the findings within the congressionally-mandated 
report to the President and Congress. Additionally, UOCAVA requires 
that ``not later than 90 days after the date of each regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office, each state and unit of 
local government which administered the election shall (through the 
state, in the case of a unit of local government) submit a report to 
the EAC on the combined number of absentee ballots transmitted to 
absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters for the election 
and the combined number of such ballots which were returned by such 
voters and cast in the election, and shall make such a report available 
to the general public.'' States that complete and timely submit the 
UOCAVA section of the survey to the EAC will fulfill their UOCAVA 
reporting requirement under 52 U.S.C. 20302. In order to fulfill the 
above requirements, the EAC is seeking information relating to the 
period from the Federal general election day 2018 +1 through the 
November 2020 Federal general election. The EAC will provide the data 
regarding UOCAVA voting to FVAP after data collection is completed. 
This data sharing reduces burden on local election offices because FVAP 
does not have to conduct its own data collection to meet its reporting 
requirements.
    Affected Public (Respondents): State or local governments, the 
District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana 
Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
    Number of Respondents: 56.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Burden per Response: 101 hours per collection, 50.5 hours 
annualized.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,656 hours per collection, 
2,828 hours annualized.
    Frequency: Biennially.
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Nichelle Williams,
Director of Research, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
[FR Doc. 2020-02688 Filed 2-10-20; 8:45 am]
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