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Federal Programs for Accrediting Laboratories That Test Voting Systems Need to Be Better Defined and Implemented (PDF)
Under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), voting systems nationwide must be certified before they can be used. In response to concerns about the Election Assistance Commission’s program to sanction laboratories that perform this vital testing, the GAO recently undertook a review of the accreditation process, finding many effective procedures but also laying out a number of steps that could be taken to improve the overall system.

Read the report here (PDF).
Featured Resources
We reflect on the state of election administration in the United States almost a decade after the 2000 presidential election and suggest how additional changes in technology, election law and administrative practices might further strengthen American elections in the years ahead.
This is a collection of papers presented at the VoteID 2009 Conference, the Second International Conference on E-voting and Identity, held in Luxembourg from September 7-8, 2009. The papers cover a wide range of issues, including voting technology in the United States and around the world.
The EAC's annual report on 2008 spending provides detailed information regarding states’ usage of HAVA funds, as well as data on competitive grants distributed by the EAC. Of the $2.96 billion they received from the EAC, states have spent 76% and are expected to use remaining funds in 2010.
This paper examines how overall voter confidence has changed since the 2000 presidential elections. The decisions at the state level regarding voting systems have been very intensely politicized, which have affected the attitude of voters towards individual technologies.
The Ohio Secretary of State conducted this legislative analysis of House Bill 260, the election enhancements bill introduced by State Representatives Dan Stewart and Tracy Heard.
Research Projects
FairVote develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels.
This project aims to evaluate the current state of reliability and uniformity of U.S. voting systems; to establish uniform attributes and quantitative guidelines for performance and reliability of voting systems; and to propose specific uniform guidelines and requirements for reliable voting systems
electionline.org provides daily news updates on election reform issues, as well as deeper analysis of selected topics, including recent reports on voter registration, recount procedures, and the progress in implementing the Help America Vote Act since 2002.
The mission of the VoTeR center is to advise state agencies in the use of voting technologies and to investigate voting solutions and voting equipment to develop and recommend safe use procedures for their usage in elections.
Dēmos is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2000. A multi-issue national organization, Dēmoscombines research, policy development, and advocacy to influence public debates and catalyze change.
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