National Association of Secretaries of State Resolution Regarding Election Assistance Commission

NASS Position on Funding and Authorization of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Dear Members of Congress:

The secretaries of state voted at the 2005 National Association of Secretaries of State winter conference to dissolve the U.S. Election Assistance Commission after the 2006 federal general election. The following position statement was passed by a majority of the secretaries in attendance:

Recognizing the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) task as a limited one, Congress, in the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), wisely authorized the EAC for only three years. Any duties assigned to the EAC can be completed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology or by the state and local election officials who make up the HAVA Standards Board and its Executive Committee.

The National Association of Secretaries of State encourages Congress not to reauthorize or fund the EAC after the conclusion of the 2006 federal general election, and not to give rulemaking authority to the EAC.

The secretaries believe that allowing the EAC to evolve into a regulatory body is contrary to the spirit of HAVA, and that by 2006 the EAC will have served its purpose. Congress should preserve the states' ability to serve as independent laboratories of change through successful experiments and innovation in election reform.

Sincerely,