Establishment of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Signed March 28, 2013·Barack Obama·78 FR 19979
Source
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Plain-language summary
Creates the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, made up of up to nine presidential appointees with experience in state or local election administration or customer-service-oriented business, with two members designated as Co-Chairs. The commission is tasked with identifying best practices and making recommendations to improve election administration and voter experience, considering issues such as polling place management, poll worker training, voting technology, ballot design, accessibility for people with disabilities or limited English proficiency, provisional and absentee ballot handling, and disaster contingency planning. It must hold public meetings, coordinate with federal, state, and local officials, and submit a final report to the President within six months of its first public meeting, after which it terminates 30 days later. The General Services Administration will provide administrative support, and members serve without pay but may receive travel expenses.
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Claimed authority
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote the efficient administration of Federal elections and to improve the experience of all voters, it is hereby ordered
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The order, in full
Executive Order 13639 of March 28, 2013
Establishment of the Presidential Commission on
Election Administration
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to promote the efficient
administration of Federal elections and to improve the
experience of all voters, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section 1. Establishment. There is established the
Presidential Commission on Election Administration
(Commission).
Sec. 2. Membership. (a) The Commission shall be
composed of not more than nine members appointed by the
President. The members shall be drawn from among
distinguished individuals with knowledge about or
experience in the administration of State or local
elections, as well as representatives of successful
customer service-oriented businesses, and any other
individuals with knowledge or experience determined by
the President to be of value to the Commission.
(b) The President shall designate two members of
the Commission to serve as Co-Chairs.
Sec. 3. Mission. (a) The Commission shall identify best
practices and otherwise make recommendations to promote
the efficient administration of elections in order to
ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to
cast their ballots without undue delay, and to improve
the experience of voters facing other obstacles in
casting their ballots, such as members of the military,
overseas voters, voters with disabilities, and voters
with limited English proficiency.
In doing so, the Commission shall consider as
appropriate:
(i) the number, location, management, operation, and design of polling
places;
(ii) the training, recruitment, and number of poll workers;
(iii) voting accessibility for uniformed and overseas voters;
(iv) the efficient management of voter rolls and poll books;
(v) voting machine capacity and technology;
(vi) ballot simplicity and voter education;
(vii) voting accessibility for individuals with disabilities, limited
English proficiency, and other special needs;
(viii) management of issuing and processing provisional ballots in the
polling place on Election Day;
(ix) the issues presented by the administration of absentee ballot
programs;
(x) the adequacy of contingency plans for natural disasters and other
emergencies that may disrupt elections; and
(xi) other issues related to the efficient administration of elections that
the Co-Chairs agree are necessary and appropriate to the Commission's work.
(b) The Commission shall be advisory in nature and
shall submit a final report to the President within 6
months of the date of the Commission's first public
meeting.
Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The Commission shall hold
public meetings and engage with Federal, State, and
local officials, technical advisors, and
nongovernmental organizations, as necessary to carry
out its mission.
(b) In carrying out its mission, the Commission
shall be informed by, and shall strive to avoid
duplicating, the efforts of other governmental
entities.
(c) The Commission shall have a staff which shall
provide support for the functions of the Commission.
Sec. 5. Termination. The Commission shall terminate 30
days after it presents its final report to the
President.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) To the extent permitted
by law, and subject to the availability of
appropriations, the General Services Administration
shall provide the Commission with such administrative
services, funds, facilities, staff, equipment, and
other support services as may be necessary to carry out
its mission on a reimbursable basis.
(b) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (the “Act”), may apply to
the Commission, any functions of the President under
that Act, except for those in section 6 of the Act,
shall be performed by the Administrator of General
Services.
(c) Members of the Commission shall serve without
any additional compensation for their work on the
Commission, but shall be allowed travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the
extent permitted by law for persons serving
intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C.
5701-5707).
(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head
thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(e) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 28, 2013.Reproduced from the Federal Register plain-text record, signed March 28, 2013. Typesetting artifacts are removed; no wording is changed.