Help America Vote Act facts for kids
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| Long title | An Act to establish a program to provide funds to States to replace punch card voting systems, to establish the Election Assistance Commission to assist in the administration of federal elections and to otherwise provide assistance with the administration of certain federal election laws and programs, to establish minimum election administration standards for States and units of local government with responsibility for the administration of federal elections, and for other purposes. |
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| Acronyms (colloquial) | HAVA |
| Nicknames | Help America Vote Act of 2002 |
| Enacted by | the 107th United States Congress |
| Effective | October 29, 2002 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 107-252 |
| Statutes at Large | 116 Stat. 1666 |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | 42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare transferred to 52 U.S.C.: Voting and Elections |
| U.S.C. sections created | 42 U.S.C. ch. 146 § 15301 et seq. transferred to 52 U.S.C. §§ 20901–21145 |
| Legislative history | |
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| United States Supreme Court cases | |
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (Pub.L. 107-252), often called HAVA, is a U.S. federal law. It was signed into law by President Bush on October 29, 2002. This law was created partly because of problems during the 2000 U.S. presidential election. In that election, many votes were not counted correctly.
HAVA's main goals are to:
- Replace old voting systems like punch cards.
- Create the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help manage federal elections.
- Set basic rules for how elections should be run.
HAVA requires all states to improve their election processes. This includes updating voting machines, how people register to vote, and training election workers. Each state can decide exactly how to make these changes.
Contents
Key Rules of HAVA
State Election Plans
States that want federal money for elections must create a plan. This plan explains how they will use the money. It also covers how they will teach voters and train poll workers. They must also show how they will measure their success.
Making Voting Accessible
HAVA wants to make sure everyone can vote easily. This includes people with disabilities.
Accessible Polling Places
The law helps states make voting locations easy to use for everyone. This means paths, entrances, and voting areas must be accessible. It also includes making sure people with disabilities can vote privately and independently. States also need to provide information about accessible polling places. They must train election workers to help all voters.
Accessible Voting Machines
HAVA requires that every voting location has at least one voting machine that people with disabilities can use. This includes features for people who are blind or have low vision. The goal is for everyone to have the same chance to vote privately and independently.
Statewide Voter Registration Lists
Before HAVA, local officials often kept voter registration lists. HAVA changed this. It requires each state to have one official, central, computer-based voter registration list. This list must be kept up-to-date. It also needs to be checked against other state databases. This helps remove voters who are no longer eligible or who are listed more than once.
Voter Identification Rules
HAVA set new rules for first-time voters who register by mail. If they haven't voted in a federal election in that state before, they need to show ID. This ID can be a photo ID or a document like a utility bill or bank statement. This rule applies to voting in person and by mail. Some voters, like those voting from overseas, are exempt. States can also add their own ID rules.
Provisional Ballots
HAVA introduced provisional voting. If a voter's name isn't on the list, but they believe they should be able to vote, they can cast a provisional ballot. After the election, officials check if the voter was eligible. If they were, their vote is counted. This helps make sure no one is wrongly turned away from voting.
Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
HAVA created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). This is an independent U.S. government agency. The EAC helps states with elections. It gathers information, tests voting systems, and gives advice. It also manages the grants (money) given out by HAVA.
EAC Commissioners
The EAC has four commissioners. They are chosen by the President and approved by the Senate. These commissioners must have experience with elections.
EAC Annual Report
Each year, the EAC must send a report to Congress. This report details all the activities related to HAVA programs. It also lists how grants were used.
New Voting Machines
HAVA requires states to use federal money to replace old punch card and lever voting systems. They must buy newer systems that meet HAVA's standards.
Voting System Standards
HAVA set rules for all voting systems. These rules say that machines must:
- Let voters check their choices privately before casting their ballot.
- Allow voters to change their ballot or fix mistakes privately.
- Warn voters if they vote for too many candidates in one race (called an overvote). It must also give them a chance to fix this error.
If a state uses machines that don't automatically detect errors, they must teach voters about overvotes. They also need to explain how to correct a ballot. All these steps must protect the voter's privacy. Voting systems must also offer different languages if required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Auditing Voting Systems
HAVA requires all voting systems to be auditable. This means they must create a paper record of votes. This paper record can be used for manual checks or recounts.
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines
The EAC is in charge of creating and updating the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). These guidelines help states choose reliable voting equipment.
Research and Development
The EAC also gives money for research. This research aims to make voting equipment better, safer, and more accurate.
Challenges in Updating Systems
States responded differently to HAVA's rules. Many bought electronic voting machines. However, some people worried about how reliable and secure these machines were. Some machines sold before 2006 did not meet HAVA's rules. This meant states sometimes had to replace or fix equipment at their own cost.
Not all states met the HAVA deadlines. This was due to problems finding certified machines and also political delays. By 2006, fewer states used old punch card or lever systems. More voters were using optical scan or electronic voting machines.
Student Programs
HAVA created programs to get students involved in elections. These programs encourage college and high school students to work at polling places. HAVA also provides grants to the National Student/Parent Mock Election. This group teaches students and parents about voting.
Military and Overseas Voters
HAVA made changes to help military members and citizens living overseas vote. These changes include:
- Making sure absentee ballots from overseas get a postmark.
- Helping military members and their families get voting information easily.
- Requiring each state to have one office for overseas voters.
- Making sure states tell overseas voters why their registration might be rejected.
Concerns About HAVA
Some people have concerns about HAVA. These concerns include the new voting technology, voter ID rules, and how the law affects voter registration.
Concerns About Electronic Voting Machines
Some critics worry about the security of electronic voting machines. A court in Pennsylvania ruled that voting machine tests were not strict enough. The court said voters have a right to reliable and secure voting systems.
Concerns About ID Requirements
Some experts believe that requiring photo ID for first-time voters is an unnecessary step. They argue that it makes it harder for some people to register. While there have been efforts to find voter fraud, little evidence of widespread fraud has been found.
Concerns About Funding Use
Some critics also point out that a lot of HAVA's money went to making voting accessible for people with disabilities. While this is important, they argue that the main goal of HAVA – fixing the problems from the 2000 election – might not have been fully met.
Concerns About Voter Registration
Critics also say that HAVA made voter registration more complicated. For example, it requires people to include their driver's license number if they have one. This can add extra steps and costs to the registration process.
Political Differences in Implementation
Studies show that political differences in states affected how HAVA was put into action. States with divided governments or strong political competition were less likely to adopt some key reforms. This suggests that political factors played a bigger role than just the need for reform.
