The National Commission on Federal Election Reform released its final report to Congress and the White House on July 31, 2001. The Commission, cochaired by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, and comprised of distinguished public leaders from across the political spectrum, was formed in the wake of the 2000 election crisis to quickly evaluate an enormous body of research on election reform, review policy proposals, and offer a bipartisan analysis to the Congress, the administration, and the American people.

Between March and June 2001, the Commission held four public hearings and organized task forces on the federal election system, election administration, and constitutional and federal election law issues.

In 2002, the bipartisan Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Bush. The law, which has served as the basis for the wave of fundamental changes to the way U.S. elections are conducted, drew heavily on the Commission's work and its final report. Learn more about HAVA here.

The Commission was organized by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs and The Century Foundation. Its work was made possible by the generous support of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Commission Chairs, Members, and Staff Biographies

Organizing and Sponsoring Institutions

Major News Releases

Former Presidents Carter and Ford to Oversee Bipartisan National Commission on Federal Election Reform (January 30, 2001)

National Commission on Federal Election Reform Meets, Outlines Ambitious Agenda to Tackle Voting Problems (March 1, 2001)

National Commission on Federal Election Reform to Release Final Report (July 30, 2001)

Election Reform Bills Passed by Congress Reflect Recommendations of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform (April 16, 2002)

Former Presidents Ford and Carter Welcome the Agreement Reached By the Congress on Election Reform Legislation (October 4, 2002)

All files in PDF format

To Assure Pride and Confidence in the Electoral Process (complete file—1.8MB)

Front and Back Covers

Contents, Preface, and Summary

Chapter 1: The Goals of Federal Election Reform

Chapter 2: The Federal Government and the Federal Election System

Chapter 3: A Democratic Process that Maintains an Accurate List of Citizens who are Qualified to Vote

Chapter 4: A Democratic Process that Encourages Every Eligible Voter to Participate Effectively

Chapter 5: A Democratic Process which Uses Equipment that Reliably Clarifies and Registers the Voter's Choices

Chapter 6: A Democratic Process that Handles Close Elections in a Foreseeable and Fair Way

Chapter 7: A Democratic Process that Reflects Limited but Responsible Federal Participation

Endnotes

Additional Statements

About the Commission

Organization

Appendix A

Appendix B

All files in PDF format

Report of the Task Force on Federal System (complete file—2.4MB)

Preface to the Reports of the Task Force on the Federal Election System

Chapter 1: Sizing the Problem

Chapter 2: Voter Registration

Chapter 3: Statewide Voter Registration Systems

Chapter 4: Civic Education Programs

Chapter 5: Early Voting, Unrestricted Absentee Voting, Voting by Mail

Chapter 6: Verification of Identity

Chapter 7: Provisional Balloting

Chapter 8: Disfranchisement of Felons

Chapter 9: Uniform Poll Closing and Uniform Reporting

Preface to the Reports of the Task Force on Legal and Constitutional Issues

Chapter 10: The Federal Regulation of Elections

Chapter 11: What Counts as a Vote?

Chapter 12: Recounts and Contests

Chapter 13: Congressional Authority to Regulate Presidential Votes Can Be Counted

First Public Hearing, March 6, 2001: "Citizen Participation"
Carter Center - Atlanta, Georgia

Panel Transcripts:

Panel 1: Perspectives of Elected Officials - with Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), United States House of Representatives; Cathy Cox, Secretary of State, Georgia; Bob Irvin, Georgia General Assembly

Panel 2: Outside Asessments - Mark Pritchett, Executive Vice President, Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc., Tallahassee; Susan MacManus, Professor, University of South Florida; Deborah Phillips, Voting Integrity Project; and William Boone, Professor, Clark Atlanta University

Panel 3: Legislative Strategies - Roy Blunt (R-MO), United States House of Representatives

Panel 4: Historical Perspectives with Jack N. Rakove, Professor, Stanford University; Alexander Keyssar Professor, Duke University; Ruth B. Mandel, Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics; and Larry J. Sabato, Professor, University of Virginia

Second Public Hearing, April 12, 2001: "Election Administration"
Ronald Reagan Library - Simi Valley, California

Panel Transcripts:

Panel 1: Perspectives of Administrators in the Field - with Conny B. McCormack, Registrar-Recorder, Los Angeles County and Mischelle Townsend, Registrar of Voters, County of Riverside, CA

Panel 2: Election Oversight - with Danny L. McDonald, Chairman, Federal Election Commission; Bill Jones, California Secretary of State; and Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State

Panel 3: Citizen Participation - with Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA); Rod Pacheco (R) California State Assembly; Rosalind Gold, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; and Kim Alexander, California Voting Project

Panel 4: New Technologies - David Jefferson, Compaq Systems Research Center, California Internet Voting Task Force; R. Michael Alvarez, California Institute of Technology; and Susan King Roth, The Ohio State University

Third Public Hearing, May 24, 2001: "What Does the Law Require?"
Lyndon B. Johnson Museum & Library - Austin, Texas

Panel Transcripts:

Panel 1: Legal Issues and Administrative Perspectives - with Sharon Priest, Arkansas Secretary of State; Lance Ward, Secretary, Oklahoma State Election Board; Henry Cuellar, Texas Secretary of State; and Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, League of Women Voters

Panel 2: Constitutional and Federal Statutory Requirements - with Joseph Rich, Department of Justice, Voting Rights Division; Scott Harshbarger, Common Cause; Cleta Mitchell, Sullivan & Mitchell; and Pamela Karlan from Stanford University

Panel 3: Civil Rights - with Hilary Shelton, NAACP; James Gashel, National Federation of the Blind; Kenneth Huff, National Board Member, AARP; and Rodolfo de la Garza, University of Texas

Panel 4: Perspectives of Political Parties - with Maria Echaveste, Democratic National Committee; Hendrik Hertzberg, Center for Voting and Democracy; and Norm Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute

Additional Materials:

Testimony of James Gashel

Testimony of John Anderson

Testimony of John Ashcroft

Testimony of Joseph Rich

Testimony of Kevin Huff

Fourth Public Hearing, June 5, 2001: "The American and International Experience"
Ford Library - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Panel Transcripts:

Panel 1: Perspectives from Washington - with Congressman Steny Hoyer; Congressman Bob Ney; and Scott Thomas, Federal Election Commission

Panel 2: Administrative Perspectives - with Christopher Thomas, Michigan Bureau of Elections; Ernest Hawkins, Registrar of Sacramento County (CA); and Doug Lewis, The Election Center

Panel 3: Media Projections - with Joan Konner, CNN Report on Election Night 2000 and Michael Traugott, University of Michigan

Panel 4: Special Problems with Voter Access - with Jim Dickson, American Association of Persons with Disabilities and Rear Admiral Stephen Yusem, Reserve Officers of the United States

Panel 5: International Perspectives - with Robert Pastor, The Carter Center; Jean-Pierre Kingsly, Elections
Canada; and Richard Soudriette, International Foundation for Election Systems

Testimony of Diane Byrum

Letter to President Ford from Representative Bob Ney

Testimony of Mitch McConnell

Testimony of Robert Pastor