Government Technology - January 2009 - (Page 44)

e-voting S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L Synopsis: The Help America Vote Act mandated comprehensive changes to voting mechanisms nationwide. Washington complied by building a custom solution with Microsoft tools. j j TheModern to isit Washington state’s home page and you’ll easily find the voterinformation section — a sterling example of how software, hardware and the Internet converge to make it easier for citizens to exercise their civic rights. Users can register online, print voter-registration forms in several languages and view personalized information like candidates’ statements and online address change options. The creation of these features was spurred by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) — a federal law that changed how Americans vote. When President George W. Bush signed HAVA on Oct. 29, 2002, he authorized the federal government to modernize voting systems for the 21st century. HAVA provided federal government funds for states to make the upgrades, and the federal government also created the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to set standards for how states administer elections. The act mandated that states replace outdated voting methods and give citizens the option to vote when officials can’t verify eligibility. HAVA also required states to establish a statewide voter-registration database, voteridentification procedures and administrative procedures for complaints. According to a report released by the Election Assistance Commission in July 2008, the federal government distributed nearly $650 million between April 2003 and August 2003 under Title I, Sections 101 and 102 of HAVA. Section 101 mandated that states receive funds to finance voter education programs and state election personnel training activities; Section 102 required the federal government to finance states’ replacement of punch card or lever voting machines. The federal government also distributed more than $2.3 billion B Y H I LT O N C O L L I N S | S TA F F W R I T E R Jurisdiction: Washington state. Technologies: Election management systems, databases and content management systems. Way Vote V When the federal government mandated changes to voting systems, Washington state met the challenge with help from one of the biggest names in software. between June 2004 and December 2005; each state had to contribute at least 5 percent matching funds of this allocation, which mandated that the federal government distribute money annually toward state election overhaul efforts. Contact: Sam Reed, Washington secretary of state, sreed@ secstate.wa.gov. Road to Compliance Each state devised a plan for how it would use the funds. Washington released its plan JAN_09 in 2003, soon after the president authorized HAVA. Although the act had many requirements, those of Title III — which required states to adopt uniform election technology and nondiscriminatory administration standards — were the minimum requirements states could fulfill to comply with HAVA. Washington received almost $6.8 million from the federal government as required by Section 102. HAVA stated that these particular funds were also for establishing uniform 44 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - January 2009

Government Technology - January 2009 Contents Point of View On the Scene Big Picture Four Questions for... Stemming the Retirement Tide Getting the Picture Fact of Matter Money Trail Rays the Roof Trick or Tweet? The Modern Way to Vote Products signal:noise

Government Technology - January 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.