SEATTLE – The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) met today to hear testimony and learn more about procedures being used in the states for vote counting and recounts in elections. The public meeting was held in Washington State, the site of a contested gubernatorial election in November, 2004, one the closest in US history.

Commissioners heard presentations from Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed, Rosanna Bencoach of the Virginia State Board of Elections and Jill LaVine, registrar of voters for Sacramento, CA. EAC also heard from researchers Thad Hall, assistant professor, Department of Political Science, University of Utah and Doug Chapin, director of Electionline.org.

“Today’s panelists provided us with valuable insight into the challenges of conducting vote counts and recounts,” said EAC Chairman Paul DeGregorio. “The information they contributed will help us to develop a set of best practices that we will share with the public and election officials throughout the country.”

To view testimony from the meeting, visit www.eac.gov.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) allows EAC to study the laws and procedures used by each state that govern recounts of ballots cast in elections for federal office as well as standards that define what constitutes a vote on each type of voting equipment used in the state. EAC is working with the University of Utah to conduct research activities to develop a set of best practices on vote count and recount procedures. EAC staff and researchers also met with several Washington State and local election officials to gain their perspective on best practices and problems found with recounts.

EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by HAVA. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, implementing election administration improvements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines and serving as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. The four EAC commissioners are Paul DeGregorio, chairman; Ray Martinez III, vice chairman; Donetta Davidson and Gracia Hillman.

###