Elections Subcommittee Ranking Member Charles A. Gonzalez Introduces Bill to Improve the EAC

Washington, DC (May 24, 2011): Elections Subcommittee Ranking Member Charles A. Gonzalez (D-TX) has introduced H.R. 1937, the EAC Improvements Act of 2011. The legislation is designed to improve the Election Assistance Commission, the only federal agency in history focused on election management. H.R. 1937 better defines the agency's priorities, while highlighting the need to expand efforts to find cost savings and organizational efficiencies.

"By requiring EAC to prioritize important functions such as ensuring that disabled voters can participate in our elections, ensuring safe and efficient testing of voting equipment, and conducting post-election surveys, this bill would continue to protect our electoral integrity while providing better stewardship of taxpayer resources," said Gonzalez in a statement encouraging Members to support the legislation. "This legislation also includes some realistic efforts to improve the cost-effectiveness of all EAC's functions. This is a common-sense, fiscally responsible approach to ensuring that the important work of this unique agency continues," he added.

Republicans have introduced H.R. 672, legislation that would eliminate the EAC, without providing a credible plan for the continuation of its vital research, information sharing, and best practice dissemination. "Termination of the agency, and the cavalier and incomplete re-assignment of some of its responsibilities to FEC – an agency that is already struggling to achieve its own mission and has expressed concerns about its ability to effectively execute these functions – would do a grave disservice to the American voter," said Gonzalez.

H.R. 1937, the EAC Improvements Act of 2011, builds on the agency's existing strengths, while incorporating feedback from the voter advocacy organizations and state/local election officials. "The American People must have complete confidence that their votes count, said Gonzalez. "While our elections are administered at the state level, they affect our federal government, so the Constitution requires Congress to ensure their integrity. The 2000 election debacle cost the American taxpayers millions of dollars and led to fundamental doubts about the effectiveness of our voting systems. A properly focused and funded EAC can not only prevent a repeat of that event but help to ensure that every American citizen's constitutionally-mandated right to vote is protected and upheld."

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