Elections
DOD Expands Voting Assistance to Military Absentee Voters, but Challenges Remain Gao ID: GAO-06-1134T September 28, 2006The narrow margin of victory in the 2000 presidential election raised concerns about the extent to which members of the military and their dependents living abroad were able to vote via absentee ballot. In September 2001, GAO made recommendations to address variances in the Department of Defense's (DOD) Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). Along with the military services, FVAP is responsible for educating and assisting military personnel in the absentee voting process. Leading up to the 2004 presidential election, Members of Congress raised concerns about efforts under FVAP to facilitate absentee voting. This testimony, which draws on prior GAO work, addresses three questions: (1) How did FVAP's assistance efforts differ between the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections? (2) What actions did DOD take in response to prior GAO recommendations on absentee voting? and (3) What challenges remain in providing voting assistance to military personnel?
For the 2004 presidential election, FVAP expanded its efforts beyond those taken for the 2000 election to facilitate absentee voting by military personnel. FVAP distributed more absentee voting materials and improved the accessibility of its Web site, which includes voting information. Also, FVAP conducted 102 more voting training workshops than it did for the 2000 election, and it provided an online training course for Voting Assistance Officers (VAO). FVAP also designed an electronic version of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot--an emergency ballot accepted by all states and territories--although its availability was not announced until a few weeks before the election. In assessing its efforts for the 2004 election, using data from its postelection surveys, FVAP attributed increased voter participation rates to an effective voter information and education program. However, in light of low survey response rates, FVAP's estimates and conclusions should be interpreted with caution. DOD has taken actions in response to GAO's prior recommendations regarding voting assistance to servicemembers. In 2001, GAO recommended that DOD revise its voting guidance, improve program oversight, and increase command emphasis to reduce the variance in voting assistance to military servicemembers. Prior to the 2004 presidential election, DOD implemented corrective actions that addressed GAO's recommendations. Specifically, the services revised their voting guidance and enhanced oversight of the military's voting assistance program, and emphasis on voting education and awareness increased throughout the top levels of command within DOD. However, the level of assistance continued to vary at the installations GAO visited. Because the VAO role is a collateral duty and VAOs' understanding and interest in the voting process differ, some variance in voting assistance may always exist. DOD plans to continue its efforts to improve absentee voting assistance. Despite efforts of DOD and the states, GAO's April 2006 report identified two major challenges that remain in providing voting assistance to military personnel: (1) simplifying and standardizing the time-consuming and multi-step absentee voting process, which includes different requirements and time frames for each state; and (2) developing and implementing a secure electronic registration and voting system. FVAP attempted to make the absentee voting process easier by using its Legislative Initiatives program to encourage states to simplify the multi-step process and standardize their absentee voting requirements. However, the majority of states have not agreed to any new initiatives since FVAP's 2001 report on the 2000 election. FVAP is limited in its ability to affect state voting procedures because it lacks the authority to require states to take action on absentee voting initiatives. For the 2004 election, FVAP developed an electronic registration and voting experiment. However, it was not used by any voters due to concerns about the security of the system. Because DOD did not want to call into question the integrity of votes that would have been cast via the system, they decided to shut the experiment down prior to its use by any absentee voters. Some technologies--such as faxing, e-mail and the Internet--have been used to improve communication between local jurisdictions and voters.
GAO-06-1134T, Elections: DOD Expands Voting Assistance to Military Absentee Voters, but Challenges Remain
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Testimony:
Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 9:30 a.m. EST:
Thursday, September 28, 2006:
Elections:
DOD Expands Voting Assistance to Military Absentee Voters, but
Challenges Remain:
Statement of Derek B. Stewart, Director, Defense Capabilities and
Management:
GAO-06-1134T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-1134T, a report to the Committee on Armed
Services, United States Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
The narrow margin of victory in the 2000 presidential election raised
concerns about the extent to which members of the military and their
dependents living abroad were able to vote via absentee ballot. In
September 2001, GAO made recommendations to address variances in the
Department of Defense‘s (DOD) Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP).
Along with the military services, FVAP is responsible for educating and
assisting military personnel in the absentee voting process. Leading up
to the 2004 presidential election, Members of Congress raised concerns
about efforts under FVAP to facilitate absentee voting.
This testimony, which draws on prior GAO work, addresses three
questions: (1) How did FVAP‘s assistance efforts differ between the
2000 and 2004 presidential elections? (2) What actions did DOD take in
response to prior GAO recommendations on absentee voting? and (3) What
challenges remain in providing voting assistance to military personnel?
What GAO Found:
For the 2004 presidential election, FVAP expanded its efforts beyond
those taken for the 2000 election to facilitate absentee voting by
military personnel. FVAP distributed more absentee voting materials and
improved the accessibility of its Web site, which includes voting
information. Also, FVAP conducted 102 more voting training workshops
than it did for the 2000 election, and it provided an online training
course for Voting Assistance Officers (VAO). FVAP also designed an
electronic version of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot”an emergency
ballot accepted by all states and territories”although its availability
was not announced until a few weeks before the election. In assessing
its efforts for the 2004 election, using data from its postelection
surveys, FVAP attributed increased voter participation rates to an
effective voter information and education program. However, in light of
low survey response rates, FVAP‘s estimates and conclusions should be
interpreted with caution.
DOD has taken actions in response to GAO‘s prior recommendations
regarding voting assistance to servicemembers. In 2001, GAO recommended
that DOD revise its voting guidance, improve program oversight, and
increase command emphasis to reduce the variance in voting assistance
to military servicemembers. Prior to the 2004 presidential election,
DOD implemented corrective actions that addressed GAO‘s
recommendations. Specifically, the services revised their voting
guidance and enhanced oversight of the military‘s voting assistance
program, and emphasis on voting education and awareness increased
throughout the top levels of command within DOD. However, the level of
assistance continued to vary at the installations GAO visited. Because
the VAO role is a collateral duty and VAOs‘ understanding and interest
in the voting process differ, some variance in voting assistance may
always exist. DOD plans to continue its efforts to improve absentee
voting assistance.
Despite efforts of DOD and the states, GAO‘s April 2006 report
identified two major challenges that remain in providing voting
assistance to military personnel: (1) simplifying and standardizing the
time-consuming and multi-step absentee voting process, which includes
different requirements and time frames for each state; and (2)
developing and implementing a secure electronic registration and voting
system. FVAP attempted to make the absentee voting process easier by
using its Legislative Initiatives program to encourage states to
simplify the multi-step process and standardize their absentee voting
requirements. However, the majority of states have not agreed to any
new initiatives since FVAP‘s 2001 report on the 2000 election. FVAP is
limited in its ability to affect state voting procedures because it
lacks the authority to require states to take action on absentee voting
initiatives. For the 2004 election, FVAP developed an electronic
registration and voting experiment. However, it was not used by any
voters due to concerns about the security of the system. Because DOD
did not want to call into question the integrity of votes that would
have been cast via the system, they decided to shut the experiment down
prior to its use by any absentee voters. Some technologies”such as
faxing, e-mail and the Internet”have been used to improve communication
between local jurisdictions and voters.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-1134T].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Derek B. Stewart at (202)
512-5559 or stewartd@gao.gov.
[End of Section]
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today's hearing on
military voting and the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). As
you know, the 2000 presidential election brought to light concerns
about a number of issues, including absentee voting by members of the
military and civilians living overseas. The Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) established that members of the
U.S. military, their dependents of voting age, and American citizens no
longer maintaining a permanent residence in the United States are
eligible to participate by absentee ballot in all federal elections.
The act covers more than 6.5 million people, including approximately
3.7 million overseas citizens not affiliated with the government (about
2 million of whom are of voting age), 1.4 million military
servicemembers, and 1.3 million military dependents of voting age.
As requested, my testimony today will focus on absentee voting for
military servicemembers. I will address (1) how FVAP's efforts to
facilitate absentee voting by military personnel differed between the
2000 and 2004 presidential elections, (2) actions taken by the
Department of Defense (DOD) in response to prior GAO recommendations on
absentee voting, and (3) remaining challenges related to military
absentee voting. Mr. Chairman, we should also note that we have just
begun work to assess FVAP's long term plans to implement and expand
electronic voting. Upon completion of this work early next year, we
will report the results to Congress.
In preparing for this testimony, we drew extensively from our published
work on the election process and absentee voting for military
servicemembers.[Footnote 1]We also identified recent changes to DOD
voting guidance that discusses the electronic transmission of voting
materials. All the work on which this testimony is based was performed
in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
For the 2004 presidential election, FVAP expanded its efforts beyond
those taken for the 2000 election to facilitate absentee voting by
military personnel. For example, FVAP distributed more absentee voting
materials and improved the accessibility of and added more election-
related links to its Web site, which includes voting information. FVAP
also conducted more voting training workshops than it did for the 2000
election, conducting 164 workshops rather than the 62 workshops
conducted for the 2000 election, and provided an online training course
for Voting Assistance Officers (VAOs). In addition, FVAP designed an
electronic version of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot--an
emergency ballot accepted by all states and territories--although the
ballot's availability was not announced until a few weeks before the
election. FVAP used data from its postelection surveys to assess its
efforts for the 2004 election. FVAP reported increased voter
participation rates, which it attributed to an effective voter
information and education program. However, in light of low survey
response rates, FVAP's estimates and conclusions should be interpreted
with caution.
DOD has taken actions in response to our prior recommendations
regarding voting assistance to servicemembers. In 2001, we recommended
that DOD revise its voting guidance, improve program oversight, and
increase command emphasis to reduce the variance in voting assistance
to military servicemembers. In 2001, we reported that implementation of
the federal voting assistance program by DOD was uneven due to
incomplete service guidance, lack of oversight, and insufficient
command support. Prior to the 2004 presidential election, DOD
implemented corrective actions that addressed our recommendations.
Specifically, the services revised their voting guidance and enhanced
oversight of the military's voting assistance program, and emphasis on
voting education and awareness increased throughout the top levels of
command within DOD. However, the level of assistance continued to vary
at the installations we visited. Because the VAO role is a collateral
duty and VAOs' understanding and interest in the voting process differ,
some variance in voting assistance may always exist. DOD plans to
continue its efforts to improve absentee voting assistance.
Despite the efforts of DOD and the states, our April 2006 report
identified two major challenges that remain in providing voting
assistance to military personnel, which are: simplifying and
standardizing the absentee voting process and developing and
implementing a secure electronic registration and voting system. FVAP
attempted to make the absentee voting process easier by encouraging
states to simplify the multi-step process and standardize their
absentee voting requirements. FVAP's Legislative Initiatives program
encouraged states to improve the absentee voting process for military
personnel by adopting changes such as (1) removing the notary
requirement on election materials and (2) allowing the use of
electronic transmission of election materials. However, FVAP is limited
in its ability to affect state voting procedures because it lacks the
authority to require states to take action on absentee voting
initiatives. Developing and implementing a secure electronic
registration and voting system, which would likely improve the timely
delivery of ballots and increase voter participation, has proven to be
a challenging task for FVAP. FVAP has not been able to develop a system
that would protect the security and privacy of absentee ballots cast
over the Internet, despite conducting a small Internet voting project
during the 2000 election and developing an electronic registration and
voting experiment for the 2004 election. In both cases, security
concerns prevented expanded use of these projects. Communications
technologies, such as faxing, e-mail, and the Internet, have been used
to improve communication between local jurisdictions and voters. For
example, for the 2004 election, FVAP's Voting Assistance Guide showed
that the states allowed some form of electronic transmission of certain
voting materials.
Background:
The U.S. election system is highly decentralized and based upon a
complex interaction of people (election officials and voters),
processes, and technology. Voters, local election jurisdictions,
states,[Footnote 2] and the federal government all play important roles
in ensuring that ballots are successfully cast in an election. The
elections process within the United States is primarily the
responsibility of the individual states and their election
jurisdictions. States have considerable discretion in how they organize
the elections process and this is reflected in the diversity of
processes and deadlines that states have for voter registration and
absentee voting, including diversity in the processes and deadlines
that apply to military voters. Each state has its own election system
with a somewhat distinct approach. Within each of these 55 systems, the
guidelines and procedures established for local election jurisdictions
can be very general or specific. Even when imposing requirements, such
as statewide voter registration systems and provisional voting on the
states in the Help America Vote Act of 2002,[Footnote 3] Congress left
states discretion in how to implement those requirements and did not
require uniformity.
Executive Order 12642, dated June 8, 1988, designated the Secretary of
Defense or his designee as responsible for carrying out the federal
functions under UOCAVA. UOCAVA requires the presidential designee to
(1) compile and distribute information on state absentee voting
procedures, (2) design absentee registration and voting materials, (3)
work with state and local election officials in carrying out the act,
and (4) report to Congress and the President after each presidential
election on the effectiveness of the program's activities, including a
statistical analysis on UOCAVA voter participation. DOD Directive
1000.4, dated April 14, 2004, is DOD's implementing guidance for the
federal voting assistance program, and it designated the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD P&R) as
responsible for administering and overseeing the program. For 2004,
FVAP had a full-time staff of 13 and a fiscal year budget of
approximately $6 million. FVAP's mission is to (1) inform and educate
U.S. citizens worldwide of their right to vote, (2) foster voting
participation, and (3) protect the integrity of and enhance the
electoral process at the federal, state, and local levels.
DOD Directive 1000.4 also sets forth DOD and service roles and
responsibilities in providing voting education and assistance. In
accordance with the directive, FVAP relies heavily upon the military
services for distribution of absentee voting materials to military
servicemembers. According to the DOD directive, each military service
is to appoint a senior service voting representative, assisted by a
service voting action officer, to oversee the implementation of the
service's voting assistance program. The directive also states that the
military services are to designate trained VAOs at every level of
command to provide voting education and assistance to servicemembers
and their eligible dependents. One VAO on each military installation
should be assigned to coordinate voting efforts conducted by VAOs in
subordinate units and tenant commands. Where possible, installation
VAOs should be of the civilian rank GS-12 or higher, or officer pay
grade O-4 or higher. In accordance with the DOD directive, commanders
designate persons to serve as VAOs. Serving as a VAO is a collateral
duty, to be performed along with the servicemember's other duties.
Differences in FVAP's Efforts Between the 2000 and 2004 Presidential
Elections:
For the 2004 presidential election, FVAP expanded its efforts beyond
those taken for the 2000 election to provide military personnel tools
needed to vote by absentee ballot. FVAP distributed more absentee
voting materials and improved the accessibility of its Web site, which
includes voting information. Also, FVAP conducted 102 more voting
training workshops for its VAOs than it did for the 2000 election. FVAP
also provided an online training course for them. FVAP also designed an
electronic version of the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot--an
emergency ballot accepted by all states and territories--although its
availability was not announced until a few weeks before the election.
In assessing its efforts for the 2004 election, using data from its
postelection surveys, FVAP attributed increased voter participation
rates to an effective voter information and education program. However,
in light of low survey response rates, FVAP's estimates and conclusions
should be interpreted with caution.
FVAP Distributed More Voting Materials and Improved Access to Its Web
Site:
In preparing for the 2004 election, FVAP distributed more absentee
voting materials and improved the accessibility of its Web site. For
the 2000 election, we reported that voting materials such as the
Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)--the registration and absentee
ballot request form for UOCAVA citizens[Footnote 4]--were not always
available when needed. DOD officials stated that they had enough 2004
election materials for their potential absentee voters. Each service
reported meeting the DOD requirement of 100 percent in-hand delivery of
FPCAs to each servicemember by January 15.
After the 2000 presidential election, FVAP took steps to make its Web
site more accessible to UOCAVA citizens worldwide by changing security
parameters surrounding the site.[Footnote 5] According to FVAP, prior
to the 2004 election, its Web site was within the existing DOD ".mil"
domain, which includes built-in security firewalls. Some overseas
Internet service providers were consequently blocked from accessing
this site because hackers were attempting to get into the DOD system.
As a result, FVAP moved the site out of the DOD ".mil" domain to a less
secure domain. In September 2004, FVAP issued a news release announcing
this change and provided a list of Web site addresses that would allow
access to the site.
FVAP also added more election-related links to its Web site to assist
UOCAVA citizens in the voting process. The Web site (which FVAP
considers one of its primary vehicles for disseminating voting
information and materials) provides downloadable voting forms and links
to all of FVAP's informational materials, such as the Voting Assistance
Guide, Web sites of federal elected officials, and state election
sites. It also contains contact information for FVAP and the military
departments' voting assistance programs. Although FVAP provided more
resources to UOCAVA citizens concerning absentee voting, it is
ultimately the responsibility of the voter to be aware of and
understand these resources, and to take the actions needed to
participate in the absentee voting process.
FVAP Increased Absentee Voting Training Opportunities:
For the 2004 election, FVAP increased the number of VAO training
workshops it conducted to 164. The workshops were conducted at military
installations around the world, including installations where units
were preparing to deploy. In contrast, only 62 training workshops were
conducted for the 2000 election. FVAP conducts workshops during years
of federal elections to train VAOs in providing voting assistance. As
an alternative to its in-person voting workshops, in March 2004 FVAP
added an online training course to its Web site. This course was also
available on CD-ROM. According to FVAP, completion of the workshop or
the online course meets a DOD requirement that VAOs receive training
every 2 years. Installation VAOs are responsible for monitoring
completion of training. The training gives VAOs instructions for
completing voting forms, discusses their responsibilities, and informs
them about the resources available to conduct a successful voting
assistance program.
FVAP Designed an Electronic Absentee Ballot Form:
On October 21, 2004, just a few weeks prior to the election, FVAP
issued a news release announcing an electronic version of the Federal
Write-in Absentee Ballot, an emergency ballot accepted by all states
and territories. UOCAVA citizens who do not receive their requested
state absentee ballots in time to meet state deadlines for receipt of
voted ballots can use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot. The
national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2005 amended the
eligibility criteria for using the Federal Write-in Absentee
Ballot.[Footnote 6] Prior to the change, a UOCAVA citizen had to be
outside of the United States, have applied for a regular absentee
ballot early enough to meet state election deadlines, and not have
received the requested absentee ballot from the state. Under the new
criteria, the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot can also be used by
military servicemembers stationed in the United States, as well as
overseas.
FVAP's Report of Higher Voter Participation Should Be Interpreted with
Caution:
On the basis of its 2004 postelection survey, FVAP reported higher
voter participation rates among uniformed service members in its
quadrennial report to Congress and the President on the effectiveness
of its 2004 voting assistance efforts. The report included a
statistical analysis of voter participation and discussed experiences
of uniformed servicemembers during the election, as well as a
description of state and federal cooperation in carrying out the
requirements of UOCAVA. However, the low survey response rate raises
concerns about FVAP's ability to project increased voter participation
rates among military servicemembers.
We reported in 2001 that some absentee ballots became disqualified for
various reasons, including improperly completed ballot return
envelopes, failure to provide a signature, or lack of a valid
residential address in the local jurisdiction.[Footnote 7] We
recommended that FVAP develop a methodology, in conjunction with state
and local election jurisdictions, to gather nationally projectable data
on disqualified military absentee ballots and reasons for their
disqualification. In anticipation of gathering nationally projectable
data, prior to the election, FVAP randomly selected approximately 1,000
local election officials to receive an advance copy of the postelection
survey so they would know what information to collect during the
election to complete the survey. The survey solicited a variety of
information concerning the election process and absentee voting, such
as the number of ballots issued, received, and counted, as well as
reasons for ballot disqualification. In FVAP's 2005 report, it cited
the top two reasons for disqualification as ballots were received too
late or were returned as undeliverable.
FVAP reported higher participation rates for military servicemembers in
the 2004 presidential election as compared with the rate reported for
the 2000 election. FVAP attributed the higher voting participation rate
to an effective voter information and education program that included
command support and agency emphasis. State progress in simplifying
absentee voting procedures and increased interest in the election were
also cited as reasons for increased voting participation. However, a
low survey response rate raises concerns about FVAP's ability to
project participation rate changes among uniformed servicemembers.
According to FVAP, while the 2004 postelection survey was designed to
provide national estimates, the survey experienced a low response rate,
27 percent. FVAP did not perform any analysis comparing those who
responded to the survey with those who did not respond. Such an
analysis would allow researchers to determine if those who responded to
the survey are different in some way from those who did not respond. If
it is determined that there is a difference between those who responded
and those who did not, then the results cannot be generalized across
the entire population of potential survey participants. In addition,
FVAP did no analysis to account for sampling error. Sampling error
occurs when a survey is sent to a sample of a population rather than to
the entire population. While techniques exist to measure sampling
error, FVAP did not use these techniques in their report. The practical
difficulties in conducting surveys of this type may introduce other
types of errors as well, commonly known as nonsampling errors. For
example, errors can be introduced if (1) respondents have difficulty
interpreting a particular question, (2) respondents have access to
different information when answering a question, or (3) those entering
raw survey data make keypunching errors.
Actions Taken in Response to Prior Recommendations:
DOD has taken actions in response to our prior recommendations
regarding voting assistance to servicemembers. In 2001, we recommended
that DOD revise its voting guidance, improve program oversight, and
increase command emphasis to reduce the variance in voting assistance
to military servicemembers. In 2001, we reported that implementation of
the federal voting assistance program by DOD was uneven due to
incomplete service guidance, lack of oversight, and insufficient
command support. Prior to the 2004 presidential election, DOD
implemented corrective actions, such as revising voting guidance and
increasing emphasis on voting education at top command levels to
address our recommendations. However, the level of assistance continued
to vary at the installations we visited. Because the VAO role is a
collateral duty and VAOs' understanding and interest in the voting
process differ, some variance in voting assistance may always exist.
DOD plans to continue its efforts to improve absentee voting
assistance.
The Services Revised Their Voting Guidance and Enhanced Program
Oversight:
In response to our recommendations in 2001, the services revised their
voting guidance and enhanced oversight of the military's voting
assistance program. In 2001, we reported that the services had not
incorporated all of the key requirements of DOD Directive 1000.4 into
their own voting policies, and that DOD exercised very little oversight
of the military's voting assistance programs. These factors contributed
to some installations not providing effective voting assistance. We
recommended that the Secretary of Defense direct the services to revise
their voting guidance to be in compliance with DOD's voting
requirements, and provide for more voting program oversight through
inspector general reviews and a lessons-learned program.
Subsequent to DOD's revision of Directive 1000.4, the services revised
their guidance to reflect DOD's voting requirements. In the 2002-03
Voting Action Plan, FVAP implemented a best practices program to
support the development and sharing of best practices used among VAOs
in operating voting assistance programs. FVAP included guidance on its
Web site and in its Voting Assistance Guide on how VAOs could identify
and submit a best practice. Identified best practices for all the
services are published on the FVAP Web site and in the Voting
Information News--FVAP's monthly newsletter to VAOs.
Top-level Command Emphasis Increased:
For the 2004 election, emphasis on voting education and awareness
increased throughout the top levels of command within DOD. In 2001, we
reported that lack of DOD command support contributed to the mixed
success of the services' voting programs and recommended that the
Senior Service Voting Representatives monitor and periodically report
to FVAP on the level of installation command support. To ensure command
awareness and involvement in implementing the voting assistance
program, in late 2003, the USD P&R began holding monthly meetings with
FVAP and the Senior Service Voting Representatives and discussed the
status of service voting assistance programs. In 2001, we also reported
that some installations and units did not appoint VAOs as required by
DOD Directive 1000.4. In March 2004, the Secretary of Defense and
Deputy Secretary of Defense issued memorandums to the Secretaries of
the military departments, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
and Commanders of the Combatant Commands, directing them to support
voting at all levels of command. These memoranda were issued to ensure
that voting materials were made available to all units and that VAOs
were assigned and available to assist voters. The Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff also recorded a DOD-wide message regarding the
opportunity to vote and ways in which VAOs could provide assistance.
This message was used by FVAP in its training presentations and was
distributed to military installations worldwide. During our review, we
found that each service reported to DOD that it assigned VAOs at all
levels of command.
Voting representatives from each service used a variety of servicewide
communications to disseminate voting information and stressed the
importance of voting. For example, the Marine Corps produced a
videotaped interview stressing the importance of voting that was
distributed throughout the Marine Corps. The Army included absentee
voting information in a pop-up message that was included on every
soldier's e-mail account. In each service, the Voting Action Officer
sent periodic messages to unit VAOs, reminding them of key voting dates
and areas to focus on as the election drew closer. Throughout the
organizational structure, these VAOs contacted servicemembers through
servicewide e-mail messages, which contained information on how to get
voting assistance and reminders of voting deadlines. According to
service voting representatives, some components put together media
campaigns that included reminders in base newspapers, billboards, and
radio and closed circuit television programs. They also displayed
posters in areas frequented by servicemembers (such as exchanges,
fitness centers, commissaries, and food court areas).
Remaining Challenges Related to Absentee Military Voting:
Despite the efforts of DOD and the states, our April 2006 report
identified two major challenges that remain in providing voting
assistance to military personnel, which are:
* simplifying and standardizing the time-consuming and multistep
absentee voting process, which includes different requirements and time
frames for each state; and:
* developing and implementing a secure electronic registration and
voting system.
Simplifying and Standardizing the Absentee Voting Process:
FVAP attempted to make the absentee voting process easier by
encouraging states through its Legislative Initiatives program, to
simplify the multi-step process and standardize their absentee voting
requirements. Many military personnel we spoke to after the 2000 and
2004 general elections expressed concerns about the varied state and
local requirements for absentee voting and the short time frame
provided by many states and local jurisdictions for sending and
returning ballots. FVAP's Legislative Initiatives program encouraged
states to adopt changes to improve the absentee voting process for
military personnel. However, the majority of states have not agreed to
any new initiatives since FVAP's 2001 report to Congress and the
President on the effectiveness of its efforts during the 2000 election.
FVAP is limited in its ability to affect state voting procedures
because it lacks the authority to require states to take action on
absentee voting initiatives. In the 1980s, FVAP began its Legislative
Initiatives program with 11 initiatives, and as of December 2005 it had
not added any others. Two of the 11 initiatives--(1) accept one FPCA as
an absentee ballot request for all elections during the calendar year
and (2) removal of the not-earlier-than restrictions for registration
and absentee ballot requests[Footnote 8]--were made mandatory for all
states by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002
and the Help America Vote Act of 2002, respectively.[Footnote 9]
According to FVAP, this action was the result of state election
officials working with congressional lawmakers to improve the absentee
voting process.
Between FVAP's 2001 and 2005 reports to Congress and the President, the
majority of the states had not agreed to any of the remaining nine
initiatives. Since FVAP's 2001 report, 21 states agreed to one or more
of the nine legislative initiatives, totaling 28 agreements. Table 1
shows the number of agreements with the initiatives since the 2001
report. According to FVAP records, one state withdrew its support for
the 40 to 45-day ballot transit time initiative. Initiatives with the
most state support were (1) the removal of the notary requirement on
election materials and (2) allowing the use of electronic transmission
of election materials. We also found a disparity in the number of
initiatives that states have adopted. For example, Iowa is the only
state to have adopted all nine initiatives, while Vermont, American
Samoa, and Guam have adopted only one initiative each.
Table 1: Number of Agreements with FVAP's Legislative Initiatives:
FVAP Initiatives: 1; FVAP Initiatives: Allow a 40 to 45-day transit
time between the date the absentee ballot is mailed to the voter and
the due date for the voted ballot to be returned;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 42;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 41; Change: - 1.
FVAP Initiatives: 2; FVAP Initiatives: Remove the notary requirement on
any election materials;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 49;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 50; Change: 1.
FVAP Initiatives: 3; FVAP Initiatives: Establish late registration
procedures for persons recently separated from the uniformed services
and citizens returning from overseas employment;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 24;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 28; Change: 4.
FVAP Initiatives: 4; FVAP Initiatives: Provide for a special state
write-in absentee ballot;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 27;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 27; Change: 0.
FVAP Initiatives: 5; FVAP Initiatives: Incorporate reference to UOCAVA
into state election code;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 33;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 37; Change: 4.
FVAP Initiatives: 6; FVAP Initiatives: Allow the use of electronic
transmission of election materials;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 48;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 49; Change: 1.
FVAP Initiatives: 7; FVAP Initiatives: Expand use of the Federal Write-
in Absentee Ballot to include special, primary, and run-off elections,
and allow the ballot to be used as a simultaneous registration
application and ballot;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 7;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 12; Change: 5.
FVAP Initiatives: 8; FVAP Initiatives: Provide emergency authority for
absentee ballot handling to the state's chief election official during
periods of declared emergency;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 11;
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 16; Change: 5.
FVAP Initiatives: 9; FVAP Initiatives: Enfranchise citizens who have
never resided in the United States or its territories;
Number of states in agreement: 2001: 8[A];
Number of states in agreement: 2005: 17; Change: 9.
Total: 28[B].
Source: GAO generated from FVAP data.
[A] Eight states agreed, but one state later withdrew support.
[B] Some states agreed to more than one initiative.
[End of table]
The absentee voting process requires the potential voter to take the
following five steps: (1) register to vote,[Footnote 10] (2) request an
absentee ballot, (3) receive the ballot from the local election office,
(4) correctly complete the ballot, and (5) return it (generally through
the mail) in time to be counted for the election. (See fig. 1.) There
are several ways for military servicemembers to accomplish these steps.
Military voters must plan ahead, particularly when deployed during
elections. Moreover, military voters require more time to transmit
voting materials because of distance.
Figure 1: Steps in the Absentee Voting Process:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO.
[End of figure]
Military servicemembers are encouraged to use the Federal Post Card
Application (FPCA)[Footnote 11] to register to vote and to request an
absentee ballot. Servicemembers can obtain the FPCA from several
sources, including the unit VAO, from the Internet via FVAP's Web site,
or from their local election office. DOD Directive 1000.4, Federal
Voting Assistance Program, requires the in-hand delivery of a FPCA to
eligible voters and their voting age dependents by January 15TH of each
year. DOD encourages potential voters to complete and mail the FPCA
early, in order to receive absentee ballots for all upcoming federal
elections during the year. Military mail and the U.S. postal service
are the primary means for transmitting voting materials, according to
servicemembers with whom we spoke.
Knowing when to complete the first step of the election process can be
challenging since each state has its own deadlines for receipt of
FPCAs, and the deadline is different depending on whether or not the
voter is already registered. For example, according to the Voting
Assistance Guide, Montana required a voter that had not previously
registered to submit an FPCA at least 30 days prior to the election. A
voter who was already registered had to ensure that the FPCA was
received by the County Election Administrator by noon on the day before
the election. For Idaho voters, the FPCA had to be postmarked by the
25th day before the election, if they were not registered. If they were
registered, the County Clerk had to receive the FPCA by 5:00 p.m. on
the 6th day before the election. For Virginia uniformed services
voters, the FPCA had to arrive not later than 5 days before the
election, whether already registered or not. Using different deadlines
for newly registered and previously registered voters to return their
absentee ballots may have some administrative logic and basis. For
example, the process of verifying the eligibility of a newly registered
voter might take longer than the process for previously registered
voters, and if there was some question about the registration
information provided, the early deadlines provide some time to contact
the voter and get it corrected.
For the November 2004 general election, according to our site survey,
nine states reported having absentee ballot deadlines for voters
outside the United States that were more lenient than the ballot
deadlines for voters inside the United States. Table 2 lists these nine
states and the difference between the mail-in ballot deadline from
inside the United States and the mail-in absentee ballot deadline from
outside the United States.
Table 2: States Reporting Differing Mail-in Absentee Ballot Deadlines
from Inside and Outside the United States, November 2004 General
Election:
State: Alaska;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States: 10 days
after Election Day and postmarked by Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: 15
days after Election Day and postmarked by Election Day.
State: Arkansas;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States:
Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: 10
days after Election Day.
State: Florida;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States:
Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: No
later than 10 days after Election Day if postmarked or signed and dated
by Election Day (federal races only).
State: Louisiana;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States: 1 day
before Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States:
Election Day.
State: Maryland;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States: 1 day
after Election Day if postmarked before Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: 10
days after Election Day and postmarked before Election Day.
State: Massachusetts;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States:
Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: 10
days after Election Day and postmarked by Election Day.
State: Ohio;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States:
Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: 10
days after Election Day.
State: Pennsylvania;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States: 4 days
before Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States:
Absentee ballot deadline extended per court order for November 2004
general election for not only absentee ballots from outside the United
States but also for those voters covered by UOCAVA, including domestic
uniformed service members, who are nonetheless absent from the place of
residence where they are otherwise qualified to vote.
State: Texas;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from inside the United States:
Election Day;
Mail-in absentee ballot deadline from outside the United States: 5 days
after Election Day.
Source: GAO 2005 survey of state election officials.
[End of table]
Another challenge for military service members in completing the FPCA
is to know where they will be located when the ballots are mailed by
the local election official. If the voter changes locations after
submitting the FPCA and does not notify the local election official,
the ballot will be sent to the address on the FPCA and not the voter's
new location. This can be further complicated by a 2002 amendment to
UOCAVA,[Footnote 12] which allowed military personnel to apply for
absentee ballots for the next two federal elections. If servicemembers
request ballots for the next two federal elections, they must project
up to a 4-year period where they will be located when the ballots are
mailed. DOD recommended that military servicemembers complete an FPCA
annually in order to maintain registration and receive ballots for
upcoming elections.
After a valid FPCA has been received by the local election official,
the next step for the voter is to receive the absentee ballot. Prior to
mailing the ballot, the local election jurisdiction must process the
FPCA. Based on one of our recent reports,[Footnote 13] local election
jurisdictions reported encountering problems in processing FPCAs. For
example, 39 percent of the jurisdictions received the FPCA too late to
process--a problem also encountered with other state-provided absentee
ballot applications. An estimated 19 percent of local jurisdictions
encountered the problem of receiving the FPCA too late to process more
frequently than the other problems. Other reported problems with FPCAs
included (1) missing or inadequate voting residence address, (2)
applied to wrong jurisdiction, (3) missing or inadequate voting mailing
address, (4) missing or illegible signature, (5) application not
witnessed, attested, or notarized, and (6) excuse for absence did not
meet state law requirements.
The determination of when the state mails its ballots sometimes depends
on when the state holds its primary elections. FVAP has an initiative
encouraging a 40 to 45-day transit time for mailing and returning
absentee ballots; however, 14 states have yet to adopt this initiative.
During our focus group discussions, some servicemembers commented that
they either did not receive their absentee ballot or they received it
so late that they did not believe they had sufficient time to complete
and return it in time to be counted.
After the voter completes the ballot, the voted ballot must be returned
to the local election official within time frames established by each
state. As we reported in 2004, deployed military servicemembers face
numerous problems with mail delivery, such as military postal personnel
who were inadequately trained and initially scarce because of late
deployments, as well as inadequate postal facilities, material-handling
equipment, and transportation assets to handle mail surge.[Footnote 14]
In December 2004, DOD reported that it had taken actions to arrange for
transmission of absentee ballot materials by Express Mail through the
Military Postal Service Agency and the U.S. Postal Service. However,
during our focus group discussions, servicemembers cited problems with
the mail, such as it being a low priority when a unit is moving from
one location to another; susceptibility of mail shipments to attack
while in theater; and the absence of daily mail service on some
military ships. For example, some servicemembers said that mail sat on
the ships for as long as a week, waiting for pick up. Others stated
that in the desert, mail trucks are sometimes destroyed during enemy
attacks.
Voters must also cope with registration requirements that vary when
local jurisdictions interpret state requirements differently. We found
variation in the counties we visited in several states as to how they
implemented state laws and regulations, with some holding strictly to
the letter of the law and others applying more flexibility in accepting
registration applications and ballots. For example:
* In Florida, officials in three counties told us they allow
registration of applicants who have never lived in the county, while
the fourth county said they require a specific address where the
applicant actually lived.
* In New Jersey, officials in three counties said they accepted any
ballot that showed a signature anywhere on the envelope while the
fourth county disqualified any ballot that did not strictly meet all
technical requirements.
Some local election officials in the states we visited took actions to
help absentee voters comply with state and local voting requirements by
tracking down missing information on the registration form or ballot
envelope and ensuring that applications and ballots went to the right
jurisdiction. However, local officials told us they must balance voting
convenience with ensuring the integrity of the voting process. This
balance often requires the exercise of judgment on the part of local
election officials.
Developing and Implementing a Secure Electronic Registration and Voting
System:
Developing and implementing a secure electronic registration and voting
system, which would likely improve the timely delivery of ballots and
increase voter participation, has proven to be a challenging task for
FVAP. Eighty-seven percent of servicemembers who responded to our focus
group survey said they were likely to vote over the Internet if
security was guaranteed. However, FVAP has not developed a system that
would protect the security and privacy of absentee ballots cast over
the Internet. For example, during the 2000 presidential election, FVAP
conducted a small proof of concept Internet voting project that enabled
84 voters to vote over the Internet. While the project demonstrated
that it was possible for a limited number of voters to cast ballots
online, FVAP's project assessment concluded that security concerns
needed to be addressed before expanding remote (i.e., Internet) voting
to a larger population. In 2001, we also reported that remote Internet-
based registration and voting are unlikely to be implemented on a large
scale in the near future because of security risks with such a
system.[Footnote 15]
For the 2004 election, FVAP developed a secure registration and voting
experiment. However, it was not used by any voters. The National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 directed DOD to conduct
an electronic voting experiment and gather data to make recommendations
regarding the continued use of Internet registration and
voting.[Footnote 16] In response to this requirement, FVAP developed
the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE), an
Internet-based registration and voting system for UOCAVA citizens. The
experiment was to be used for the 2004 election by UOCAVA citizens from
seven participating states,[Footnote 17] with the eventual goal of
supporting the entire military population, their dependents, and
overseas citizens.
FVAP established a Security Peer Review Group, a group of 10 computer
election security experts, to evaluate SERVE. However, in January 2004,
a minority report published by four members of the group publicly
raised concerns about the security of the system. They suggested it be
shut down due to potential security problems that left it vulnerable to
cyber attacks. Furthermore, they cautioned against the development of
future electronic voting systems until the security of both the
Internet and the world's home computer infrastructure had been
improved. Specifically, the report stated:
The real barrier to success is not a lack of vision, skill, resources,
or dedication, it is the fact that, given the current Internet and PC
security technology, and the goal of a secure, all-electronic remote
voting system, the FVAP has taken on an essentially impossible task.
According to FVAP, after the minority group issued its report, the full
peer review group did not issue a final report. Also, because DOD did
not want to call into question the integrity of votes that would have
been cast via SERVE, they decided to shut it down prior to its use by
any absentee voters. FVAP could not provide details on what it received
for the approximately $26 million that it invested in SERVE. FVAP
officials stated that they received some services from the contractor,
but no hardware or other equipment.
Communications technologies, such as faxing, e-mail, and the Internet,
can improve communication between local jurisdictions and voters during
some portions of the election process. For example, FVAP's Electronic
Transmission Service (ETS) has been in existence since the 1990s, and
is used by UOCAVA citizens and state and local officials to fax
election materials when conditions do not allow for timely delivery of
materials through the mail. For the November 2004 general election,
FVAP's Voting Assistance Guide showed that the states allowed some form
of electronic transmission of the FPCA, blank absentee ballot and the
voted ballot. However, it is important to note that of the 10,500 local
government jurisdictions responsible for conducting elections
nationwide, particular local jurisdictions might not offer all of the
options allowed by state absentee ballot provisions. As shown in Table
3, for the November 2004 presidential election, 44 states allowed the
FPCA to be faxed to the local election jurisdiction for registration
and ballot request. In each of these states, the completed FPCA also
had to be mailed to the local election jurisdiction. In one state, the
completed FPCA had to be mailed or postmarked the same day that the
FPCA was faxed. A smaller number of states allowed the blank absentee
ballot to be faxed to the voter and an even smaller number of states
allowed the voted ballot to be sent back to the local election
jurisdiction. According to FVAP's records, in calendar year 2004 ETS
processed 46,614 faxes, including 38,194 FPCAs, 1,844 blank ballots to
citizens, and 879 voted ballots[Footnote 18] to local election
officials. Total costs to operate ETS in 2004 were about $452,000.
According to FVAP's revised Voting Assistance Guide for 2006-2007, only
one additional state allowed the faxing of the FPCA for registration
and ballot request. Table 3 also shows options allowed by each state
and territory for electronic transmission of election materials for the
November 2006 election. Two additional states also allowed the faxing
of the blank ballot.
Table 3: Options allowed by States and Territories for Electronic
Transmission of Election Materials for the November 2004 and November
2006 Elections:
Number of states that allowed faxing of: FPCA for registering;
November 2004: Yes: 44;
November 2004: No: 11;
November 2006: Yes: 45;
November 2006: No: 10.
Number of states that allowed faxing of:: FPCA for ballot request;
November 2004: Yes: 49;
November 2004: No: 6;
November 2006: Yes: 50;
November 2006: No: 5.
Number of states that allowed faxing of:: Blank ballot;
November 2004: Yes: 31;
November 2004: No: 24;
November 2006: Yes: 33;
November 2006: No: 22.
Number of states that allowed faxing of:: Voted ballot;
November 2004: Yes: 23;
November 2004: No: 32;
November 2006: Yes: 23;
November 2006: No: 32.
[End of table]
In September 2004, DOD implemented the Interim Voting Assistance System
(IVAS), an electronic ballot delivery system, as an alternative to the
traditional mail process. Although IVAS was meant to streamline the
voting process, its strict eligibility requirements prevented it from
being utilized by many military voters. IVAS was open to active duty
servicemembers, their dependents, and DOD overseas personnel who were
registered to vote. These citizens also had to be enrolled in the
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System,[Footnote 19] and had
to come from a state and county participating in the project. FVAP
officials said the system was limited to DOD members because their
identities could be verified more easily than those of nonmilitary
overseas citizens. Voters would obtain their ballots through IVAS by
logging onto www.MyBallot.mil and requesting a ballot from their
participating local election jurisdiction. One hundred and eight
counties in eight states and one territory agreed to participate in
IVAS;[Footnote 20] however, only 17 citizens downloaded their ballots
from the site during the 2004 election. According to FVAP, many states
did not participate in IVAS for a variety of reasons including state
legislative restrictions, workload surrounding regular election
responsibilities and additional Help America Vote Act requirements,
lack of technical capability, election procedural requirements and
barriers, and unavailability of Internet access.
Despite low usage of the electronic initiatives and existing security
concerns, we found that servicemembers and VAOs at the installations we
visited strongly supported some form of electronic transmission of
voting materials. During our focus group discussions, servicemembers
stated that election materials for the 2004 presidential election were
most often sent and received through the U.S. postal system.
Servicemembers also commented that the implementation of a secure
electronic registration and voting system could increase voter
participation and possibly improve confidence among voters that their
votes were received and counted. Additionally, servicemembers said that
an electronic registration and voting system would improve the absentee
voting process by providing an alternative to the mail process,
particularly for those servicemembers deployed on a ship or in remote
locations. However, at one location, some servicemembers were more
comfortable with the paper ballot system and said that an electronic
voting system would not work because its security could never be
guaranteed.
Concluding Observations:
The federal government, states, and local election jurisdictions have a
shared responsibility to help increase military voters' awareness of
absentee voting procedures and make the process easier while protecting
its integrity. The election process within the United States is
primarily the responsibility of the individual states and their
election jurisdictions. Despite some progress by FVAP in streamlining
the absentee voting process, absentee voting requirements and deadlines
continue to vary from state to state. While it is ultimately the
responsibility of the voter to understand and comply with these
deadlines, varying state requirements can cause confusion among voters
and VAOs about deadlines and procedures for registering and voting by
absentee ballot. The ability to transmit and receive voting materials
electronically provides military servicemembers another option to
submit a ballot in time to participate in an election. Although state
law may allow electronic transmission of voting materials, including
voted ballots, the 10,500 local election jurisdictions must be willing
and equipped to accommodate this technology. The integration of people,
processes and technology are very important to the United States'
election system.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer
any questions that you or other members of the Committee may have at
this time.
[End of section]
Appendix I: Related GAO Reports:
Elections: The Nation's Evolving Election System as Reflected in the
November 2004 General Election. GAO-06-450. Washington, D.C.: June 6,
2006:
Elections: Absentee Voting Assistance to Military and Overseas Citizens
Increased for 2004 General Election, but Challenges Remain. GAO-06-521.
Washington, D.C.: April 7, 2006.
Election Reform: Nine States' Experiences Implementing Federal
Requirements for Computerized Statewide Voter Registration Lists. GAO-
06-247. Washington, D.C.: February 7, 2006.
Elections: Views of Selected Local Election Officials on Managing Voter
Registration and Ensuring Eligible Citizens Can Vote. GAO-05-997.
Washington, D.C.: September 27, 2005.
Elections: Federal Efforts to Improve Security and Reliability of
Electronic Voting Systems Are Underway, but Key Activities Need to be
Completed. GAO-05-956. Washington, D.C.: September 21, 2005.
Elections: Additional Data Could Help State and Local Elections
Officials Maintain Accurate Voter Registration Lists. GAO-05-478.
Washington, D.C.: June 10, 2005.
Department of Justice's Activities to Address Past Election-Related
Voting Irregularities. GAO-04-1041R. Washington, D.C.: September 14,
2004.
Elections: Electronic Voting Offers Opportunities and Presents
Challenges. GAO-04-975T. Washington, D.C.: July 20, 2004.
Elections: Voting Assistance to Military and Overseas Citizens Should
Be Improved. GAO-01-1026. Washington, D.C.: September 28, 2001.
Elections: The Scope of Congressional Authority in Election
Administration. GAO-01-470. Washington, D.C.: March 13, 2001.
FOOTNOTES
[1] See appendix I for a list of related GAO reports.
[2] Throughout this testimony, states also include the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
and American Samoa.
[3] Pub. L. No. 107-252, § 706 (2002).
[4] This includes members of the United States military, their
dependents of voting age, and American citizens no longer maintaining
permanent residence in the United States.
[5] http://www.fvap.gov/.
[6] Pub. L. No. 108-375, § 566 (2004).
[7] GAO, Elections: Voting Assistance to Military and Overseas Citizens
Should Be Improved, GAO-01-1026 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 28, 2001).
[8] Not-earlier-than restriction refers to states not accepting an FPCA
if it arrives before a specified date.
[9] Pub. L. No. 107-107, § 1606 (2001) and Pub. L. No. 107-252, § 706
(2002), respectively.
[10] In some states, registration may not be necessary to vote.
[11] In all states and territories, the FPCA serves as a valid request
for registration and/or absentee ballot for those citizens entitled to
use it regardless of whether they have registered prior to the
submission of the FPCA.
[12] The Help America Vote Act of 2002 amended UOCAVA.
[13] GAO, Elections: The Nation's Evolving Election System as Reflected
in the November 2004 General Election, GAO-06-450 (Washington, D.C.:
June 6, 2006).
[14] GAO, Operation Iraqi Freedom: Long-standing Problems Hampering
Mail Delivery Need to Be Resolved, GAO-04-484 (Washington, D.C.: Apr.
14, 2004).
[15] GAO-01-1026
[16] Pub. L. No. 107-107, § 1604 (2001).
[17] The seven states were Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Utah, and Washington.
[18] Voters sacrifice privacy for timeliness when they return completed
ballots by fax.
[19] The Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System provides a
means for quickly verifying and validating a person as eligible to
receive military health care and other DOD benefits.
[20] The nine states and territories were Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland,
Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, South Carolina, Virgin Islands, and
Wisconsin.
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