Improving State Voter Registration Databases: Final Report (2010)

10:30 a.m.

Welcome to the Workshop

Sharon Priest and Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

10:45 a.m.

Panel 1: Overview of the Issues

What are key voter registration issues and how do they affect the establishment of statewide voter registration databases as mandated by HAVA?

Moderator: Sharon Priest/Olene Walker

Panelists:

Gracia M. Hillman, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Caroline C. Hunter, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Leonard M. Shambon, formerly with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr

Robert A. Pastor, Executive Director, Carter-Baker Commission and Director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management, American University

Q&A with presenters

12:00 p.m.

Lunch Available

Continue discussion from first panel session and prepare for afternoon sessions

12:45 p.m.

Panel 2: Status of Voter Registration Database Efforts

Panelists:

Deborah Markowitz, Secretary of State, Vermont, and Immediate Past President of the National Association of Secretaries of State

Brad Bryant, President, National Association of State Election Directors and Deputy Assistant for Elections, Kansas

Linda Lindberg, General Registrar, Arlington County, Virginia

Q&A with presenters

2:15 p.m.

Break

2:30 p.m.

Welcome and Brief Overview for Web Cast Audience

Sharon Priest and Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

2:35 p.m.

Panel 3: Record Matching: Technical/Operational Issues and Problems

What types of technical problems can occur in record linking? What is the impact on data quality? What type of data cleaning is required? What are potential solutions to these problems?

Moderator: William Winkler

Panelists:

Gio Wiederhold, Professor (Emeritus), Computer Science, Medicine, and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University

William Cohen, Associate Research Professor, Machine Learning Department, Carnegie Mellon University

Michael Franklin, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley

Respondents:

James Willis, Principal, Banyan Social Technology, and Former Director, eGovernment for Rhode Island

Frank Olken, Computer Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Q&A with presenters

4:00 p.m.

Panel 4: Interoperability and Database Operations in Other Domains

What kinds of problems or issues exist in nonelection domains (i.e., government and nongovernmental settings), including technical and organization dimensions? What is the range of possible solutions?

Moderator: Paula Hawthorn

Panelists:

John Glaser, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Partners Healthcare System

Dan Schutzer, Executive Director, Financial Services Technology Consortium

Vivek Narasayya, Senior Researcher, Data Management, Exploration and Mining Group, Microsoft Research

Ken Orr, Founder, Ken Orr Institute (participating by phone and Web conference)

5:30 p.m.

Adjourn

8:30 a.m.

Welcome to the Workshop

Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chair

8:40 a.m.

Panel 1: Data Providers Issues and Challenges

Moderator: William Winkler

Panelists:

Peter Monaghan, Director, Information Exchange and Computer Matching, Social Security Administration

William L. Farrell, Director, Office of Systems Security Operations Management, Social Security Administration

Walter A. Jackson III, Senior Systems Analyst, Systems Analysis Division, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

James Wilson, Program Manager, Address Technology, U.S. Postal Service

Garland Land, Executive Director, National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems

Q&A with presenters

10:15 a.m.

Break

10:45 a.m.

Panel 2: Data Providers Issues and Challenges

Moderator: Paula Hawthorn

Panelists:

Kimball Brace, President, Election Data Services (remote participation)

Clark Bensen, Principal Consultant, Polidata

Keith Cunningham, Director of the Board of Elections for Allen County, Ohio

Q&A with presenters

11:45 a.m.

Lunch available

Continue discussion from morning sessions and prepare for afternoon panels

1:00 p.m.

Panel 3: IT Operations—State and Local

Moderator: John Lindback

Shane Hamlin, Assistant Director of Elections, Office of Secretary of State, Washington

Q&A with presenters

3:00 p.m.

Break

3:15 p.m.

Panel 4: Impact of Technical Implementation on Policy

Moderator: Olene Walker

Panelists:

Wendy R. Weiser, Deputy Director, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law

James C. Dickson, Vice President of Government Affairs, American Association of People with Disabilities

Melanie L. Campbell, Executive Director, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation

Lloyd Leonard, Senior Director for Advocacy, League of Women Voters

Q&A with presenters

4:45 p.m.

Panel 4: Impact of Technical Implementation on Policy

Moderator: Michael Alvarez

Panelists:

Vincent Keenan, Executive Director, Publius

Michael P. McDonald, Associate Professor, George Mason University and Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Chris Thomas, Director, Bureau of Elections, Michigan Department of State

Ernie Hawkins, CERA, Chair of Election Center Board of Directors, California

Q&A with presenters

8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chair

8:35 a.m.

Panel 5: Security and Privacy Issues

Moderator: Jeff Jonas

Panelists:

Peter G. Neumann, SRI International Computer Science Laboratory

Glenn Newkirk, President, InfoSENTRY Services Inc. (remote participation)

James J. Horning, Chief Scientist, Information Systems Security Operation, SPARTA Inc.

Bradley A. Malin, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University

10:00 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m.

Panel 6: IT Operations—Vendors

Moderator: John Lindback

Panelists:

Thomas H. Ferguson, Director, Saber Corporation

Neil McClure, Chief Technology Officer, Hart InterCivic

8:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

8:40 a.m.

Overview and Demo—Oregon State Voter Registration Database System

John Lindback, Dave Franks, and Ericka Hass, Oregon Secretary of State’s Office

9:40 a.m.

Break

10:00 a.m.

Roundtable Session 1—State Voter Registration Databases: Lessons Learned

Discussion Facilitator: Olene Walker

• Reactions to study committee’s interim report, State Voter Registration Databases: Immediate Actions and Future Improvement

• How has your state addressed implementation or operational challenges at either the state or local level?

• What is your state’s experience with matching against DMV, SSA, or other state agency data sources? What is the status of any inter-state matching efforts, if any?

• What has been working well and what requires more attention?

12:15 p.m.

Lunch available

1:15 p.m.

Roundtable Session 2—State Voter Registration Databases: Medium-Term Improvements (1-5 years)

Discussion Facilitator: Bruce McPherson

• What are possible areas or potential solutions to improve voter registration and/or state voter registration databases in the medium term?

• How useful would any of the following proposed solutions be, including

• The use of the tear-off receipts for voter registration?

• The creation of a software repository to do better matching so states do not have to implement it themselves?

• How can we accommodate the need for a signature during electronic transfers?

• How can we get a better handle on the estimated costs for implementing the medium- and long-term recommendations?

Format:

Introduction and brief overview—Bruce McPherson

General discussion

Recap highlights—Jeff Jonas

3:15 p.m.

Break

3:30 p.m.

Roundtable Session 3—State Voter Registration Databases: Long-Term Improvements (5+ years)

Discussion Facilitator: Fran Ulmer

• What “big picture” system changes could be considered by regions or the federal government to provide easier exchange and sharing of databases?

• What methods would make it easier for a highly mobile voting population to vote (without having multiple jurisdiction registration processes limit that right)?

• What options and possibilities are available for automatic voter registration?

• What are the benefits/drawbacks of moving to same-day voter registration?

• Are there possible legislative changes that should be considered?

Roundtable Participants:

Gail Fenumiai, Director, Division of Elections, Alaska

Barbara Gruenstein, Municipal Clerk, Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska

Lee Kercher, IT Division Chief, Secretary of State, California

Dean Logan, Acting Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, California

Bruce McDannold, Elections Division Lead, Secretary of State, California

Nancy Blankenship, County Clerk, Deschutes County, Oregon

Annette Newingham, Supervisor of Elections, Lane County, Oregon

Thad Duvall, Douglas County Auditor and President of Washington State Association of County Auditors

Peggy Nighswonger, Director of Elections, Wyoming

Lynne Fox, Uinta County Clerk, Wyoming

6:00 p.m.

Working Dinner—Committee Members Only

8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

9:05 a.m.

Security Issues

Discussion Facilitator: Rebecca Wright

• Describe the process of determining the risk assessment and the security model for a state and discuss how the security model was implemented.

• For centralized state voter registration systems, including the voter registration database and any additional election management functions, (1) what different types of functionality are states adding and deploying with their voter registration systems (e.g. online registration)? (2) what minimum levels of security would you expect a state to have for the different functionalities?

• What are some time-tested and valid ways to test your security without causing too much disruption?

• How much redundancy/back-up should be built into a system of this size and importance in order to accommodate security and reliability concerns?

• What kinds of security advice can we give that will apply to a broad range of potential statewide voter registration systems and will continue to hold for at least the next 5 years?

• Is there anything about security that is unique or specific to voter registration databases, as opposed to other domains? Or, alternatively, are there other well-studied domains that have the same or very similar security issues as statewide voter registration systems?

Participant: Randy Cobena, Vice President, Government Solutions, Saber

Q&A

9:30 a.m.

Interactive Discussion on Security for Voter Registration Databases

Panelists: Paula Hawthorn, Rebecca Wright, and John Lindback

10:30 a.m.

Discussion and Reflection

Reactions to workshop and identifying issues to address in final report

12:00 p.m.

Lunch

12:30 p.m.

Report Development and Workshop Planning

• Review project schedule

• Workshop planning, possible topics/issues for the next three workshops

• Planning for the final report (target date for first draft is February/March 2009) including scope, outline, and assigning report sections

• Current set of issues/topics (deferred in the interim report) for possible inclusion in the final report is provided below. This list is not fixed and may continue to change based on committee deliberations.

• • Develop/promote public access portals for checking voter registration status.

  • Encourage/require DMV, public assistance, and disability agencies to provide voter registration information electronically.

  • Encourage DMV, public assistance/service agencies, tax assessors, etc. to remind voters in their communication to the public to check and update their information.

  • Improve matching procedures.

  • Establish software repository of tested matching algorithms.

  • Provide voter registration receipts to improve administrative process.

  • Allow voters to register and update missing or incorrect registration information online if a signature is already on file with a state agency.

  • Develop procedures for handling disenfranchisement caused by mistaken removals from voter registration lists.

  • Improve the design of voter registration forms.

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

9:40 a.m.

Past, Present, and Future of Interstate Data Sharing and Data Matching

Brad Bryant, Election Director, Kansas

10:00 a.m.

Roundtable Session 1—Interstate Data Sharing and Data Matching: Initial Attempts and Areas for Improvement

Discussion Facilitator: Fran Ulmer

• What is your state’s experience with and status of any interstate matching efforts?

• What has been working well and what requires more attention?

11:45 a.m.

Lunch available

12:45 p.m.

Roundtable Session 2—Interstate Data Sharing and Data Matching: Looking Toward the Future

Discussion Facilitator: Michael Alvarez

• Why conduct interstate data matching? What are the goals?

• Should any broader frameworks be created to facilitate interstate data sharing?

• Should the efforts remain regional, expand to affinity states, move toward a national approach?

• What broader improvements could be made across states, such as data field/ format standardization?

• Should attempts at interstate data matching remain ad hoc and bottom up (e.g., grow slowly and build to develop a standard over time) or would a more formalized, top-down approach be more effective?

• How can best practices be shared among the states that are engaging in interstate data sharing efforts?

• As more states take part in interstate data matching efforts, what privacy policies and/or public relation strategies may need to be formulated?

Roundtable Participants:

Brad Bryant, Election Director, Kansas

Mike Stewart, CIO for the Secretary of State's Office, Kansas

L. Neal Erickson, Deputy Secretary of State for Elections, Nebraska

Josh Daws, CIO for Secretary of State’s Office, Nebraska

Mark Ritchie, Secretary of State, Minnesota

2:15 p.m.

Break

2:30 p.m.

Other Perspectives on Interstate Data Matching

Robert Brandon, Co-founder and President, Fair Elections Legal Network

• Describe your organization’s experience with voter registration, noting particular successes as well as challenges.

• What changes, if any, is your organization working on to improve your voter registration processes?

Panelists:

Mary Merritt, President, League of Women Voters, Missouri

Mary Potter, Member, Jackson County Republican Committee

Michael Slater, Deputy Director, Project Vote, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

4:30 p.m.

Why Have Voter Registration?

Jim Silrum, Deputy Secretary of State, North Dakota

6:00 p.m.

Working Dinner—Committee Members Only

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

9:10 a.m.

Discussion and Reflection

Reactions to workshop and identifying issues to address in final report

Workshop planning, discuss topics/issues and possible speakers for the next workshops

10:30 a.m.

Top Ten Lists for Security and Privacy

Rebecca Wright—security check list

Jeff Jonas—privacy concerns

11:30 a.m.

Lunch

12:00 p.m.

Developing an Outline for the Final Report

Each committee member will come up with three to four issues that the final report should address. Each issue should be recorded on a separate sheet of paper and should relate to one of the six broad areas identified in the interim report (see list below). After the committee has finished this exercise, the group will discuss each of the major areas and address other issues that did not fit into one of these categories but may be important to include in the final report.

• Electronic Transmission of Data (encourage/require state agencies to share/ transmit data electronically)

• Voter Education (e.g., encourage state agencies to remind voters in their communications to the public to check and update their information, etc.)

• Matching (e.g., improve matching procedures, establish software repositories of tested matching algorithms, etc.)

• Process Improvements (e.g., provide voter registration receipts, develop procedures for handling disenfranchisement caused by mistaken removals form voter registration lists, improve design of voter registration forms, etc.)

• Privacy and Security

1:00 p.m.

Small Group Discussions and Writing Sessions

Continue thematic discussions and/or break into small groups to further refine focus and create outlines for the identified report sections.

8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chair

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chair

9:10 a.m.

Remarks from the EAC Commissioners

9:25 a.m.

Panel 1: VRD Experiences—Northeast and Midwest

Discussion Facilitator: John Lindback

Panel Participants:

Joseph E. McLain, Help America Vote Act Administrator, Indiana

Barbara Hansen, Statewide Voter Registration System Director, Wisconsin

David Burgess, Deputy Secretary for Planning and Service Delivery, Pennsylvania

George Gilbert, Guildford County Elections Director, North Carolina

Panel Participants:

Donald Palmer, Elections Director, Florida

Marc Burris, IT Director, North Carolina

Wesley Tailor, Director of Elections, Georgia

Adam Thompson, HAVA Director, Alabama

12:25 p.m.

Lunch available

1:00 p.m.

Panel 3: VRD Experiences—Southwest

Discussion Facilitator: Bruce McPherson

Panel Participants:

Ryan High, HAVA Administrator, Nevada

Kelli Fulgenzi, BOE Administrator, New Mexico

J. Wayne Munster, Director of Elections, Colorado

2:25 p.m.

Break

2:40 p.m.

Panel 4: Technical Performance Assessments

Discussion Facilitator: Rebecca Wright

Panel Participants:

Peggy Taff, Bureau Chief Voter Registration Services, Florida

Lani Smith, IT Manager, Nevada

Trevor Timmons, Chief Information Officer, Colorado

Patricia Lemus, Business Analyst/Technical Liaison, New Mexico

Adam Thompson, HAVA Director, Alabama

David Burgess, Deputy Secretary for Planning and Service Delivery, Pennsylvania

4:40 p.m.

Break

4:50 p.m.

Panel 5: VRD Performance Successes and Challenges

Discussion Facilitator: William Winkler

Panel Participants:

Adam Skaggs, Voting Rights Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice

Eric Fischer, Senior Specialist in Science and Technology, Congressional Research Service

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker, Committee and Workshop Co-chair

9:10 a.m.

Oregon & Washington Inter-state Interoperability Project

John Lindback, Mike Alvarez, and Jeff Jonas

10:10 a.m.

Break

11:20 a.m.

Discussion and Reflection

Reactions to workshop and identifying issues to address in final report

12:15 p.m.

Lunch

12:35 p.m.

Potential Revision to Project Statement of Task

Herb Lin, NRC Staff

1:00 p.m.

Project Status Update

Enita Williams, NRC Staff

Project timeline, workshop planning—dates, locations, themes, and writing schedule

1:15 p.m.

Developing an Outline for the Final Report

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chairs

9:10 a.m.

Remarks from the EAC Commissioners

• Describe the performance of your state’s VRD systems in preparing for the November 2008 election.

• Were there notable successes? Challenges?

• How and to what extent did technical issues (including criteria for matching names) arise in adding new registrants to the approved list?

• How and to what extent did technical issues (including criteria for matching names) arise in performing list maintenance?

• How and to what extent did technical issues (including criteria for matching names) arise in election-related legal proceedings such as recounts and law suits?

• What are some of the looming census and redistricting issue your states face? Are there plans in place to manage redistricting changes through the state’s VRD systems?

Panel Participants:

Michelle Tassinari, Elections Director, Massachusetts

Keryn Cadogan, Voter Registration Information System (VRIS) Applications Manager, Massachusetts

William Campbell, Clerk, Woburn Board of Registrars of Voters, Massachusetts

Robin Fields, Secretary of State’s Office, Ohio

Eleanor Speelman, Legal Council, Secretary of State’s Office, Ohio

Sarah Whitt, SVRS Functional Lead, Wisconsin

Herb Thompson, Department of Administration, Wisconsin

10:50 a.m.

Panel 2: Maintenance Challenges

Discussion Facilitator: Denise Lamb

• What are the best practices/state of the art in VRD maintenance procedures?

• Have there been attempts at interstate collaboration? If so, describe these efforts and whether they were successful.

• What are some potential next steps to address technical challenges to interstate collaboration?

Panel Participants:

Deirdre Bishop, Assistant Chief, Census Redistricting Data Office, Bureau of the Census

Jay Varner, SABER/EDS

Adam Gigandet, Chief Information Officer, New York State DMV

Keryn Cadogan, Voter Registration Information System (VRIS) Applications Manager, Massachusetts

Sarah Whitt, SVRS Functional Lead, Wisconsin

William Campbell, Clerk, Woburn Board of Registrars of Voters, Massachusetts

12:00 p.m.

Lunch available

• Efforts in the pipeline, collaborations underway with relevance to VRD system maintenance and performance in order to avoid duplication of effort.

Karen Lynn-Dyson, Research Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

1:05 p.m.

Panel 3: Intra-State Social Services Collaboration

Discussion Facilitator: Paula Hawthorn

• How are data shared/transmitted among the various intra-state organizations?

• What are some potential next steps to address technical challenges to intra-state collaboration?

Panel Participants:

Leesa Shem-Tov, NAPHSIS State and Territorial Exchange of Vital Events (STEVE) Project Manager

Adam Gigandet, Chief Information Officer, New York State DMV

Gregory Fulchino, Data Processing Manager/Jury Census Manager, Massachusetts Juror Commissioners Office

Brian Mellor, Senior Counsel, Project Vote

2:05 p.m.

Break

2:15 p.m.

Panel 4: UOCAVA

Discussion Facilitator: Sarah Ball Johnson

• What are some of the unique challenges in registering military and overseas voters?

• How are UOCAVA voters managed in various states VRD systems?

• What are some technological registration methods being explored for UOCAVA voters? What can state VRD managers learn from these experiments?

• Also learn more about specific activities such as the Alliance for Military and Overseas Voting Rights January 29th Meeting; Project SERVE; and efforts by the Pew Center for the States

Panel Participants:

Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, Overseas Voting Foundation (via conference call)

Carol Paquette, SERVE Project and Project BRAVO

Karl Cowart, Voting Information Officer, Hanscom Air Force Base

Bob Carey, Executive Director, National Defense Committee

Pat Hollarn, former Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections, Florida (via conference call)

David Becker, Project Director-Making Voting Work, Pew Center on the States

4:15 p.m.

Break

Panel Participants:

Peter Schalestock, Legislative Counsel, Congressional Committee on House Administration—Minority side

Thomas Hicks, Legislative Counsel, Congressional Committee on House Administration—Majority side

Adam Ambrogi, Legislative Counsel, Senate Rules and Administration Committee —Majority side (invited)

Michael Merrell, Legislative Counsel, Senate Rules and Administration Committee —Minority side (invited)

6:15 p.m.

Working Dinner—Committee Members Only

8:00 a.m.

Welcome and Overview

Olene Walker and Fran Ulmer, Committee and Workshop Co-chair

8:45 a.m.

Discussion and Reflection

Reactions to workshop and identifying issues to address in final report

10:15 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m.

Discussion and Reflection

Brainstorming Exercise

Reactions to workshop and identifying issues to address in final report

11:30 a.m.

Break-Out Group or Individual Writing Session

12:15 p.m.

Lunch

12:45 p.m.

Developing an Outline for the Final Report

2:00 p.m.

Break

2:15 p.m.

Final Thoughts