WASHINGTON - The four members of the bipartisan United States Election Assistance Commission appeared today at the winter meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State. In their first public appearance since being confirmed by the U. S. Senate and appointed by President Bush on December 13, 2003, the Commissioners outlined the preliminary work they have completed and described their immediate plans for implementing important elements in the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission is made up of Chairman DeForest "Buster" Soaries, Vice Chair Gracia Hillman, and Commissioners Paul DeGregorio and Ray Martinez.

In his remarks Chairman Soaries announced that the Commission will soon complete the work necessary for the distribution of $2.3 billion dollars of federal funds to upgrade voting equipment, train election workers and conduct other election reform measures. "Our priority is to get the appropriated federal funds to the States." said Soaries, who served as New Jersey Secretary of State from 1999 to 2002. "I am pleased to announce to you today that we are now preparing to present all of the State's HAVA plans for publication in the Federal Register and forty five days after publication, the federal government will release $2.3 billion dollars to support the purchase of equipment, the education of voters, the training of poll workers and other preparations for the 2004 federal elections."

Chairman Soaries also described a series of fact-finding and coordination efforts the Commission has undertaken since the members were confirmed. These include: meetings with State and local election officials; discussions with representatives from the Department of Defense regarding their Federal Voter Assistance Project (facilitating voting by military personnel and other Americans living overseas); review of Voting Systems Standards and studies analyzing "human factors" in voting systems designs (i.e. how people react to and use different voting systems) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Commissioners also have had discussions with representatives of the Department of Justice aimed at establishing a cooperative approach to implementing HAVA. Steps also have been taken to provide the Commission with the funding and administrative capabilities required to accomplish its mission.

Commissioners also offered details of their goals for the next several weeks, which include finalizing plans for creating the Technical Guidelines Development Committee and other boards. HAVA mandates these federal boards to develop voluntary guidelines for improving election administration.

The Commission is scheduled to hold its first public meeting on March 23, observe primary elections in a number of States, submit a report to Congress, and meet with non-governmental organizations concerned with voting issues.

Commission Vice Chair Gracia Hillman, a former League of Women Voters executive and human rights activist, praised her fellow Commissioners for their "spirit of bipartisanship." "Each of us has taken off our respective partisan hats. We are working with one commitment to serve the voters and insure that every American has confidence in the voting process."