Activities & News

The Report for H.R. 811, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 is now available. The report is the exact language of the legislation that will be sent to the full House of Representatives for consideration. (May 21, 2007)

Congressman Robert A. Brady, from Pennsylvania First District becomes chair of the House Committee on Administration. He succeeds Congresswoman Millender-McDonald who died last month. The Committee Chair is often called by other members of Congress the Mayor of Capitol Hill. The responsibilities of the Committee include regulating the Congressional Frank, Congressional Organizations, the Library of Congress, and the use of the "Dear Colleague" mailing privilege. (May 11, 2007)

House Committee on Administration marks up H.R. 811 a substitute offered by Subcommittee on Elections Chair Zoe Lofgrin. The bill while retaining the bill number of legislation introduced by Representative Holt earlier in the year, is a completely different legislative language. The bill now will go for consideration by the full House. Among other things the bill would establish rules for assuring a voter verified paper audit trail, direct that accessibility standards be established for paper record voting systems, and funding of a grants program for technology improvements. (May 8, 2007)

House Committee on Administration Chairwoman Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald passes away. She served as Ranking Member of the Committee before assuming the position of Chair at the beginning of the 110th Congress this year. Millender-McDonald had been serving her seventh term in Congress. She was the first African-American woman to chair the House Administration Committee. She has five children and several grandchildren. (April 22, 2007)

House Committee on Administration Subcommittee on Elections held hearings to assess the importance of auditing in public elections. Statement provided by NCVI advocated for the practice as a means of achieving greater transparency in public elections. It was also pointed out that the field of election auditing is still new and in need of definitions as well as best practices. (March 20, 2007)

Sarasota County voting technology report resulting from an independent expert review of the ES&S iVotronic 8.0.1.2 firmware used in voting systems deployed for the November 2006 general election. The election was noted because of 18,000 undervotes in a race with less than 400 votes separating the top two candidates to fill the 13th Congressional District.

Schedule for 2007 of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee's meetings for this year. (January 25, 2007)

The Election Assistance Commission released its first Testing and Certification Manual to guide the review of electronic voting systems intended for use in public elections. the certification manual outlined the process that allows manufacturers to register with the agency and have voting systems offered for certification under the 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines.[Draft Manual] NCVI Comments on the Draft. (January 1, 2007)

NCVI heads a collaborative effort among Rice University's Computer and Political Science Department and the Jefferson County Texas Clerk's office to conduct a survey project during the November 7, 2006 general election. The research measured the experience of voters using both paperless touch screen voting systems and optical scan ballots on Election Day. This is the first time voters choices and time studies were conducted both inside and outside of the poll place experience. Robert Stein, with Rice University's Political Science Department expects to have a report in early 2007. (November 7, 2006)

NCVI submits comments to the Election Assistance Commission's Draft Testing and Certification Manual. The manual when finalized will guide the testing and certification of electronic voting systems like touch screen voting machines. (November 1, 2006)

NCVI Announces Recommendations for E-voting Systems. Recommendations to assist voters and election administrators. The guidance was prepared with the assistance of the Brennan Center for Justice and addresses the use of electronic voting systems in the upcoming national elections. NCVI and the Brennan Center warn that the recent implementation of electronic voting systems will make ensuring that all votes are accurately counted a difficult and challenging task. It is estimated that 80% of all voters will use either Optical-Scan or direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems during this years election. October 30, 2006)

The National Education Association took a position in support of voter verified paper audit trails. The organization sent letters to all state election directors requesting that they take "the steps necessary to provide a verifiable paper audit trail for all electronic voting machines[.]" (July 2006)

NCVI submits testimony for Joint House Committees' Hearing on E-voting. In a statement to the House Committees on Administration and Science, the National Committee for Voting Integrity recommended greater security for e-voting systems. NCVI said that the current review process for ensuring that e-voting systems count votes as cast is not working. The Election Assistance Commission has delayed implementation of a new federal process intended to replace the current system. For
more information. (July 19, 2006)

Cuyahoga County issued its final report on the technical and administrative problems experienced during the May 2, 2006 Primary Election. The county put into place processes and procedures that it expected would yield a near flawless election. The problems during the primary were so numerous that an immediate investigation began. (July 20, 2006)

NCVI provided CDs to the NAACP Annual convention held in Washington, DC for attendees to receive information on recommendations for the use of electronic voting systems in public elections. The recommendations were created for the purpose of assisting voters, poll workers, election administrators, and election protection efforts in making informed choices regarding electronic voting systems. (July 15-20, 2006)

NCVI provided a statement for the record for a joint hearing of the Congressional House Committees on House Administration and Science. The hearing looked at new federal Voluntary Voting System Guidelines and the current state of the independent testing of voting systems intended for use in public elections. (July 19, 2006)

NCVI submits a statement in a joint hearing conducted by the House Committees on Science and Administration. The hearing was titled "Voting Machines: Will New Standards and Guidelines Help Prevent Future Problems?" The joint committee hearing was an opportunity for both committees with jurisdictions over standards development for voting systems could gather information. The House Committee on Science has oversight of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is charged with assisting the Election Assistance Commission in developing standards for e-voting systems. The House Committee on Administration has oversight responsibilities for the Election Assistance Commission. (July 19, 2006)

The Brennan Center Releases Voting Technology Report. The Brennan Center's report "The Machinery of Democracy Protecting Elections in an Electronic World," was a collaborative effort joined by EPIC's Project the National Committee for Voting Integrity that identified over 120 security threats; and evaluated countermeasures for repelling attacks. The study examined each of the three most commonly purchased electronic voting systems and makes recommendations on their use in public elections. (June 28, 2006)

NCVI members Doug Jones, Vincent Lipsio and Joe Hall participated in a bipartisan Hill briefing to layout the facts about laboratory accreditation and voting system certification as it relates to voting system security. The recently disclosed Diebold security vulnerability further highlights the need for higher voting system review to bar the certification of systems that cannot meet basic security requirements. Verified voting was represented by Bobbie Brinegar. (June 7, 2006)

The Election Assistance Commission publishes the 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines in the Federal Register. The Guidelines were adopted on December 13, 2005. (April 12, 2006)

NCVI joined by Computing Professional for Social Responsibility, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Voters Unite and Vote Trust USA sent a letter to the Election Assistance Commission regarding the replacement of the January 12, 2006 document placed on their web site as as the final Voluntary Voting System Guidelines with another document. (April 28, 2006)

EAC's post of the December 13, 2005 adopted Voluntary Voting System Standards is changed for a new version of the document. NCVI performed an analysis of the two documents and found significant changes between the security section found on the December 2005 version, and the security section found on the version posted sometime in January 2006. (April 1, 2006)

NCVI in an additional Freedom of Information Act request to the Election Assistance Commission has obtained agency records concerning the awarding of additional no-bid contracts to members of its advisory committee: Stephen Berger, and Brit Williams . the documents provided also show a no bid contract award tot he National Association of State Election Directors. (March 10, 2006)

NCVI in a Freedom of Information Act request to the Election Assistance Commission has obtained agency records concerning the performance of a contract awarded under no bid circumstances to Kennesaw State University for work related to the draft Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. The response to the NCVI request included e-mails, comments, appendices comments, and comment tracking system information. Additional information is being sought based on this FOIA submission. (January 19, 2006)

On December 13, 2005 the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) unanimously adopted the 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. The final version of this document was not available to the public until January 12, 2006. Volume I and Volume II are the products of over a year of effort by the EAC's advisory committee the National Institute of Science and Technology and voluntary contributions by computer technologists, voting rights groups, and election reform activists. (January 12, 2006)

NCVI invited to participate in a National Academies of Science planning meeting for a possible "all academy" effort on developing a sound analytical basis for improving public participation and confidence in 21st Century Elections. (December 5-6, 2005)

A federal court in Rome, Georgia has ruled (pdf) that a recently enacted voter ID law violates the federal Constitution. Enforcement of the law would have required voters to present a state-issued photo ID card in order to vote. The plaintiffs in the case argued that the cost and inconvenience of obtaining such an ID was too much for many poor voters. Georgia has only 58 Department of Driver Services for 159 counties. Earlier this year, comments (pdf) submitted to the Department of Justice, opposing the Georgia voter ID law. (October 21, 2005)

NCVI testifies before the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, at its final hearing, on its proposed Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. NCVI's statement (pdf) focused on the importance of election administration in creating reliable, secure, accessible, transparent, accurate, and auditable public elections. The Commission is nearing the end of a process begun last year, which is intended to replace how voting systems used in public elections are designed. (August 23, 2005)

NCVI's compares the two voting technology standards draft documents, and notes additions or deletions from the Technical Guidelines Development draft version. The voting technology draft released by public comment by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's is compared with the Technology Guideline Development Committee. (July 22, 2005)

On June 29, the public comment period begins for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's Draft Voting Standards, and will last for 90 days, ending at 5:00 PM eastern time September 30, 2005. The draft standards were developed under the Help America Vote Act and are intended to replace current voting standards. (June 29, 2005)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity has submitted comments to the Senate Rules Committee, which held a hearing on Voter Verification in the Federal Elections Process. NCVI said that current voting technology does not meet a standard that can assure voters that votes are recorded and counted as cast. NCVI, a project of EPIC, made recommendations to the Senate on ways to improve transparency, privacy and security of ballots. For more information, see EPIC's page on Voting and Privacy. (June 21, 2005)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity has submitted comments to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on their work to prepare recommendations to states on the creation of an official, interactive, centralized statewide voter registration list, as mandated by the Help American Vote Act. For more information, see EPIC's pages on Voting and Voter Registration Databases. (May 25, 2005)

NCVI provides an update on the July 20, 2004, Hearing held by the Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census on the Science of Voting Machine Technology: Accuracy, Reliability and Security. Starting with the 109th Congress this committee has been disbanded and the issues regarding voting technology will now be under the Full Committee. NCVI provided questions for the hearing, which shed light on the perspectives held by VoteHere, and Dr. Michael Shamos on voting machine standards and security. Q&A Part 1, Q&A Part II (March 18, 2005)

NCVI offers comments to the Election Assistance Commission's Technical Guidelines Development Committee on its work to create electronic voting standards with the assistance of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NCVI strongly encourages the TGDC to make greater use of the expertise and resources of NIST in developing any new voting technology standards. The TGDC will makes it recommendations to the EAC on voting technology standards soon. (March 9, 2005)

NCVI holds press conference to announce recommendations for Election Reform in the United States. The National Committee for Voting Integrity Chair Dr. Peter Neumann and members Professor Doug Jones and Jamin Raskin, Constitutional Law scholar at American University were joined by Paul Hyland with the Computing Professionals for Social Responsibility to discuss challenges and solutions for election administration in this country. Article on the press conference. (November 3, 2004)

NCVI contributes to Election Day preparation message of Election Protection efforts supported by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. A detailed explanation of problems associated with optical scan and DRE paperless voting systems is provided and recommendations that voters using these methods should follow can be linked from the bullet item "Take steps". (October 28, 2004)

NCVI participates in the Computing Professionals for Social Responsibility's (CPSR) annual meeting, held this year in Washington, DC. The meeting included a forum that examines the impact that computing technology has had on public policy, which also included e-voting's use in elections. (October 16, 2004)

NCVI member Prof. Doug Jones Testifies before the Congressional Black Caucus during special hearing on voting. A panel of national experts talked about potential election recount pitfalls and ways in which voters can make sure their ballots are tallied. Discussions focused specifically on whether voting systems are ready for Nov. 2. (October 7, 2004)

NCVI Testifies on Voting Privacy The Election Assistance Commission Technical Guidelines Development Committee asked EPIC to offer testimony (pdf) on the impact that new voting technology and polling place practices has on the privacy rights of voters. The hearing was an opportunity for the committee charged with making recommendations on voluntary standards for election systems and voting technology. The committee is expected to make its recommendations to the full Election Assistance Commission board sometime next summer for adoption and implementation in 2006. (September 22, 2004)

NCVI members participate in the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) two-day workshop to develop a national research program to discuss what is currently wrong with our nation's voting systems and to recommend research that would improvement the election's process. On Tuesday 9/21, AAAS will hold a press conference to announce the program, and a detailed set of recommendations will be available later this week. (September 16-17, 2004)

NCVI participates on voting panel hosted by Congresswoman Millender-McDonald held at the 34th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Week held in Washington, DC September 8-10th. (September 9, 2004)

NCVI offers Recommendations for Election Officials, Poll Workers, Voters, and Election Protection efforts for the November Election. (August 16, 2004)

Vincent Lipsio a member of the NCVI participated on a voting panel held by Congresswoman Corrine Brown at the close of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Convention held in Jacksonville, Florida. (August 4, 2004)

Dr. Avi Rubin a member of NCVI testified before the House Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Inter-governmental Relations, and the Census at their hearing on "The Science of Electronic Voting Machine Technology: Accuracy, Reliability, and Security” was held in Room 2247 of the Rayburn House Office Building.(July 20, 2004)

Dr. David Dill, Dr. David Chaum, and Dr. Avi Rubin, members of the NCVI participated in a 2 day meeting on voting hosted by the National Academy of Sciences' Computer Science and Telecommunication Board. (July 13-14, 2004)

The first meeting of the EAC's Technical Guidelines Development Committee took place on July 9, 2004. The members of the committee are Chair Dr. Arden Bement, Hon. Donetta Davidson, Alice Miller, Sharon Turner-Buie, Helen Purcell, James R. Harding, James Elekes, Anne Caldas, H. Stephen Berger, Dr. Brittain Williams, Paul Craft, Dr. Ronald Rivest, Dr. Daniel Schutzer (via phone), Patrick Gannon, and Whitney Quesenbery. (July 9, 2004)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity (NCVI) endorses the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Brennan Center's Recommendations to Election Administrators that would address some of the security concerns outlined by voting technology experts. (June 29, 2004)

The League of Women Voters changes position by removing its endorsement of paperless direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines after Dr. Barbara Simons, NCVI Committee member was successful in leading the effort to pass a resolution to amend their position at the League's convention held in Washington, DC. (June 21,2004)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity (NCVI) sends a letter to Chairman Soaries thanking him for recommending that state election officials have access to voting technology vender software and firmware. (June 14, 2004)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity (NCVI) provided written testimony to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) hearing to review the "Use, Security, and Reliability of Electronic Voting Systems." Following the hearing the NCVI held a press conference to discuss the EAC's first hearing and the need for more participation by technologist. (May 5, 2004)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity sent a letter to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission suggesting names of experts in voting technology to be considered for appointment to the Technical Guidelines Development Committee as established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). (April 12, 2004)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held a two-day symposium to discuss issues relevant to the implementation of the Help America Vote Act to foster dialogue and collaboration amongst voting and election stakeholders. (December 10-11, 2003)

The US Senate confirmed the appointments of Chair DeForest Soaries, Jr. and Vice Chair Gracia M. Hillman, Commissioner Paul S. DeGregorio, and Commissioner Raymundo Martinez, III to serve as members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). This new agency was created by the Help America Vote Act in 2002. (December 9, 2003)

The National Committee for Voting Integrity held a press conference to announce letters being sent to candidates for the Presidency to ask their position on voter verified paper ballots. For more information, see the press release.
(November 21, 2003)