U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION …

                      U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
                      1225 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 1100
                      Washington, DC 20005




                Statement by Commissioner Gracia M. Hillman
   In Response to August 16 New York Times Article on Voting System Flaws


Washington, DC - August 18, 2008: On August 16, The New York Times (NYT) ran an
incomplete and outdated article that reports on "a government backlog in testing (voting)
machines' hardware and software." The article suggests that the backlog has been
created by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) voting system certification
process and leaves the impression that EAC is doing nothing while States are left to
fend for themselves to fix problems before the November elections.

The essence of the NYT article reports on "flaws" in voting machines and needed
software fixes or upgrades that presumably won't be fixed before the November election
in states that require federal (EAC) certification. The systems at issue were certified by
the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), which terminated its
program toward the end of 2006, just as EAC was finalizing the details of its own voting
system testing and certification programs, as mandated by the Help America Vote Act.
Information about EAC's programs is available at www.eac.gov under Program Areas
(http://www.eac.gov/program-areas).

EAC's testing and certification programs, which took effect in January 2007, contain all
of the right components to provide rigorous testing. The programs require that all
systems, whether currently in use or newly manufactured, undergo and pass end-to-end
testing before they can receive EAC certification. A period of transition is underway from
when NASED ended its certification and when the first systems will receive EAC
certification. Caught in the abyss are the NASED systems that have "flaws" and need
software fixes and/or upgrades.

If the NYT article had been complete and up-to-date, it would have reported that EAC is
actively exploring all options to determine if or how it can provide interim certification for
software fixes and/or upgrades that need attention now, even though EAC did not certify
the systems with the "flaws." While I wholeheartedly subscribe that EAC should not take
any action that would ever undermine the integrity of any of its programs, I do not see
this as an "either/or situation" ­ either help the States with an interim solution or maintain
the integrity of our voting system testing and certification programs.

Rather, I see this as "both/and" ­ EAC should maintain the integrity of its testing program
while developing and offering interim solutions so that states whose laws require federal
certification can get the EAC assistance they need in time for the November elections.

At my request, EAC heard testimony at its July 21 meeting about a resolution passed in
June by the EAC Board of Advisors encouraging "EAC to continue working to resolve
the impasse created by developing certification systems and remove certification
barriers and roadblocks in order to ensure certification of needed system improvements
in time for use in the 2008 general election." We also heard a presentation of options
from EAC staff in response to the resolution.

The options include 1) Emergency Certification of Voting System Modifications; 2)
Waiver of EAC Certification; or 3) Stay the (Current) Course. Staying the course is not
an option for me. During our July 21 meeting, I requested information as to precisely
which states and/or local jurisdictions were affected by this dilemma. I also offered a
hybrid option, which would be for EAC to try and create a contingency plan for states to
consider that could help move them closer to having systems that would be in
compliance with state law before November 4, 2008.

The full contents of EAC Board of Advisors Resolution 2008-3, the July 21 testimony,
including the options that were presented by staff and the commission discussions are
available at www.eac.gov. The testimony and webcast of the meeting can be found on
the sites for the July 21 EAC Meeting at News Center and Webcasts on the homepage.
The board's resolution can be found on the Board of Advisors page at About EAC on the
homepage.

At this point, EAC is working against the clock to find solutions, which could include
anything ranging from interim certification to technical assistance and guidelines to
States ­ things that could be included in what I refer to above as the hybrid option. The
states cannot continue to wait. While I do not know what EAC will decide in the end, I
know that I, for one, will be deeply disappointed if EAC is not able to offer concrete
assistance to those jurisdictions that need our services at this critical time.

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