Appoint Commissioners to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Recipient: President Obama

Dear Mr. President:

The
undersigned members of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human
Rights’ Voting Rights Task Force urge you to quickly appoint
commissioners to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (“EAC” or
“Commission”). These essential positions have been empty for an
unacceptably long time. As organizations that are committed to
supporting and expanding the civil and voting rights of all Americans,
we have devoted substantial resources to the passage of both the
National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, and
failing to appoint commissioners puts our work at jeopardy and risks
reducing the voting and civil rights of our citizens — rights for which
many have given their lives.

The
EAC does valuable work to ensure the reliability and trustworthiness of
our nation’s election systems. The Commission plays a major role in
collecting accurate and comparable election data. With our nation’s
complex and diversified election administration system, central data
collection is essential if we are going to improve our citizens’ trust
and confidence in election results. The Commission develops and fosters
the training and organization of our nation’s more than 8,000 election
administrators. Through its many working committees and convening of
robust dialog among advocates, manufacturers and administrators, the
Commission is improving the administration of elections. The EAC’s award-winning web page has become the “go to” site for election administrators, advocates, and academics.

The
Commission is charged with developing standards for voting systems, and
this precedent-setting work has been recognized by nations around the
world. Several countries are so impressed with our system that they
have signed agreements with the EAC for technical assistance as they
developed their own voting system standards and certification
procedures. The EAC’s certification program is helping state and local
governments to save money by using its oversight role to coordinate with
manufacturers and local election officials to ensure that the existing
equipment meets its durability and longevity potential. This saves
state and local governments from the unnecessary expense of new voting
equipment.

The
EAC has played a central role in improving the accessibility of voting
for the country’s more than 37 million voters with disabilities. We
still have a way to go to achieve the Help America Vote Act’s mandate to
make voting accessible. The EAC’s leadership is essential to
continuing the effort to offer all Americans the right to vote
“privately and independently.”

As
we rapidly approach the 2012 elections, the EAC needs a full complement
of commissioners. It takes time for new commissioners to settle in and
develop relationships with the thousands of local election
administrators, and accordingly, further delaying these appointments
will set back the progress the country has made. We urge you to quickly
fill these important positions.

We
look forward to the speedy nomination of Election Assistance
Commissioners. Thank you for your consideration of our position. If
you have any questions about this letter, please contact Lisa Bornstein,
Senior Counsel, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, at
(202) 263-2856 or
[email protected]
or Jim Dickson, Vice President of Organizing and Civic Engagement, American Association of People with Disabilities, at
[email protected]
or (800) 840-8844.

Sincerely,

American Association of People with Disabilities

Common Cause

Demos

Fair Elections Legal Network

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

League of Women Voters of the United States

National Urban League

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)

Project Vote

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights