The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is an independent, bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. It will be holding a public meeting in Minnesota on the 16th. The EAC is operates the federal government’s first voting system certification program and is charged with making sure HAVA is executed-as-planned. They also adopt voluntary voting system guidelines that are, well, voluntary, and, according to their website, provide “best practices and resources to election officials throughout the nation.”

In Minnesota, here’s what they’ll be working on:

* Recommendation to Modify EAC Advisory 07-003-A on Maintenance of Effort Funding — Vice Chair Caroline C. Hunter
* Policy Proposal Regarding the Use of HAVA Funds — Vice Chair Caroline C. Hunter

Apparently you can only comment on the proposals. Here’s how: send an email to HAVAInfo@eac.gov. But it will probably be cooler to show up in person. Here’s the info:

WHAT: Public Meeting ( 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm )
WHERE: Millennium Hotel in Minneapolis, MN
WHEN: 04/16/2008 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
CONTACT NAME: Bryan Whitener
PHONE: 202-566-3100

* Add lawsuit: Pew’s electionline.org sent out word that the state of Arizona and the EAC are going head-to-head in court.

An unresolved debate at the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) over changing Arizona’s instructions for the federal mail-in voter registration form has prompted Secretary of State Jan Brewer (R) to move forward with legal action against the federal agency.

The bipartisan commission has been split for months on whether to amend the state’s instructions to include Arizona’s 2004 requirement that voter registration applications include documents that indicate proof of citizenship.

Two weeks ago, art a meeting in Denver, the four EAC commissioners- two Democrats and two Republicans - again deadlocked 2-2 along party lines on Arizona’s request to make the change and a frustrated Brewer said she wants to move the debate to the courts. Minor changes to instructions in seven other states were approved at the same meeting.

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