In order for nonprofit organizations to understand the new voting requirements of Help America Vote Act (HAVA), OMB Watch has laid out below background information, bullet points of the HAVA requirements, the HAVA payment plan, and additional resources for more HAVA information.

Background

Election officials, legislators, and advocates in each state are responsible for implementing HAVA swiftly and inclusively. States must meet standards for provisional ballots (a contingency ballot based on verification of voting eligibility), statewide-computerized voter lists, "second chance" voting (being able to change your vote if you accidentally push the wrong button or mark the wrong candidate), and disability access. States will receive federal funds for these purposes and to improve the administration of elections. Each state must design a plan, pass enabling legislation this year, and appropriate a small amount of state funds.

HAVA Requirements

As of February 2004, all states should have:

• Developed a plan for meeting the bill?s requirements and submitted the plan for public comment,

• Implemented a provisional ballot program to ensure no one is turned away at the polls (40 states have met the provisional ballot requirements, 6 states do not need to meet requirements because they have election day registration, 2 states have legislation pending),

• Required all polling places to post educational material for voters,

• Implemented a statewide database with uniform and centralized data of all registered or eligible to register voters. Each state has the opportunity to opt out of this requirement and be waived of this responsibility if a request was submitted before January 1, 2004 (41 states have applied for the waiver, which you can view in Election Online's Report) and,

• Required all polling places to have uniform voter identification policies which may include: checking an individual?s driver?s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote. HAVA explicitly states that individuals without either should be assigned an unique number so the voter registration system can identify them (25 states have complied, 17 states require all voters to show ID at the polls, and 6 states have implemented universal voter ID laws.)

By November 2, 2004 all states should have bought out or replaced punch card and lever machines. Each state has the opportunity to waive the voting machine requirement if its request was submitted before January 1, 2004 (42 states will have new voting machines for this year?s election.)

States plans to meet requirements have varied greatly. View each state's implementation plans posted in the Federal Register. Also see the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, DEMOS, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, and People for the American Way's summary chart for state implementation plans for HAVA.

HAVA Payments

In general, a state only needs to devote their federal funds to one or more of the following:

• Comply with requirements under title III, which include: voting system standards, provisional voting and voting information requirements, computerized statewide voter registration list requirements and requirements for voters who register by mail.

• Improve the administration of elections for federal office.

• Educate voters on voting procedures, voting rights, and voting technology.

• Develop the state plan for how it will use the money given to implement the minimum requirments set forth under title III.

• Improve, acquire, lease, modify, or replace voting systems and technology and methods for casting and counting votes.

• Improve the accessibility and quantity of polling places, including physical access for individuals with disabilities, providing nonvisual access for individuals with visual impairments, and providing assistance to Native Americans, Alaska Native citizens, and to individuals with limited proficiency in the English language.

• Establish toll-free telephone hotlines that voters may use to report possible voting fraud and voting rights violations, to obtain general election information, and to access detailed automated information on their own voter registration status, specific polling place locations, and other relevant information.