Final rules on reorganization of National Voter Registration Act regulations

The Federal Election Commission and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) are jointly taking action to transfer regulations that implement the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) from the FEC to the EAC. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) transferred the FEC’s former statutory authority regarding the NVRA regulations to the EAC.

The NVRA required the FEC, in consultation with chief state election officers, to develop a mail voter registration application for elections to federal office and to submit a report assessing the impact of the NVRA to Congress no later than June 30 of each odd-numbered year, beginning June 30, 1995. The NVRA also assigned the FEC the responsibility of prescribing, in consultation with chief state election officers, the regulations necessary to carry out these functions. The FEC issued such regulations in 1994, and they are currently codified in Part 8 of Title 11, Chapter 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

HAVA transferred these responsibilities from the FEC to the EAC. The EAC is an independent federal agency created by HAVA and charged with various tasks related to the administration of federal elections. Accordingly, in order to facilitate the EAC’s exercise of its statutory authority, the Commission is transferring the regulations implementing the NVRA to the EAC.

The regulations in 11 CFR Part 8 are being removed and simultaneously recodified in Chapter II of Title 11, where the regulations created and administered by the EAC are located. The final rule that will accomplish this was published in the July 30, 2009, Federal Register (74FR 37519) and is available on the FEC website at http://transition.fec.gov/law/cfr/ej_compilation/2009/notice_2009-17.pdf. The rule became effective August 28, 2009.