Not only does the bill give the EAC authority to determine how elections are to be administered at the State and local levels, but by making the EAC guidelines and certification process mandatory, this bill would also give the EAC power to override State and local preferences. The guidelines and certification process — established by these four Presidential appointees unaccountable to the public — would carry the same power as federal law.
Here are some of the expanded powers of the EAC under S. 1487:
A. Authority to set the accuracy standard for voting equipment. HAVA set the standard in stone — 1 error in 500,000 votes. But S. 1487 changes that to whatever standard is adopted by the Commission.
B. As of 2010, sole authority to determine the pool of voting systems available to states for use in holding elections for federal office (see #1A above).
A. Authority to determine the “distinct communities” whose votes may be legally lost at a higher than normal rate (see #2 below).
B. Authority to grant “emergency certification” to voting systems whether they meet federal standards or not.
C. Authority to determine which software must be or must not be disclosed to State election officials.
D. Authority to determine the individuals to whom software will be disclosed for research purposes.
E. Authority to determine whether or not a State is in compliance with the security (chain of custody) requirements.
F. Authority to determine whether an “independent” testing lab is “sufficiently independent” from other interests.
G. Authority to determine which, if any, “experts” may observe the certification testing.
H. Authority to determine the “model audit” for States to “consider” when establishing their own audit process.
I. Authority to delay certification of an election until a State submits all the paperwork the Commission requests, at its discretion, regarding the audit.
J. Authority to determine the method by which voters will be notified that they are about to be removed from the voter rolls.
K. Authority to establish standards to govern the accreditation of the people authorized to observe election and which activities must be open to their observation.
L. Authority to establish rules governing administration of early voting (newly required in this bill), including geographic locations of poll sites.
