Each July ACM’s Policy Office staff and USACM’s leadership compile USACM’s annual report for the past fiscal year (which ended June 30). In this year’s report you will find descriptions of our work on electronic voting, privacy, and security; the testimony provided by our members; and discussions of our activities to educate Congress about different technology policy issues.

You can read the FY 2007 USACM Annual Report online.

Early this afternoon, the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) formally approved its draft of the next edition of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. After some final editing and adjustments, they will forward this document to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The current draft is available online. Running at 578 pages and approximately 1170 requirements, this is the first top-to-bottom rewrite of federal voting system guidelines since 1990.
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On Friday, August 17, the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) will meet by teleconference. This will be the Committee’s final meeting on the next generation of voting system guidelines. The meeting is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time and run until approximately 5:30 p.m. A rough agenda is available one the same page as the webcast. The goal of this meeting is to approve the draft guidelines that the TGDC will submit to the Election Assistance Commission. You can read the current draft (dated August 7) online.
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Following the top-to-bottom review we posted about earlier, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has changed the certification status of the voting systems subject to the review, as well as one system that was not submitted for the review. Bowen’s decision gives affected jurisdictions six months to adjust before the February 5, 2008 Presidential Primary.

You can read the formal decisions online. The affected systems are: (more…)

CONTENTS

[1] Newsletter Highlights
[2] House And Senate Pass Landmark Innovation Legislation
[3] Key Senator Signals Slowing of E-voting Reform
[4] California Top-To-Bottom Review Outlines Vulnerabilities and Deficiencies in E-Voting Systems
[5] House Committee Moves to Protect Social Security Numbers
[6] Patent Reform Legislation Advances in Congress
[7] Final Voting Standards Meeting Rescheduled
[8] About USACM
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Update #2: The Senate passed the final conference report late this evening (8/2/07), so the bill is headed to the President’s desk.

Update: The legislation passed the House this evening (8/2/07) by a vote of 367-57.

After two years of discussion, Congress has finally agreed to a comprehensive “competitiveness” legislative package intended to create, expand and bolster programs that foster innovation and domestic talent. Stretching almost 500 pages the bill (here is the full text of the legislation) is comprehensive in scope. Some provisions simply reauthorize (provide proposed funding targets for Congress over the next several years) agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Some create new programs or build on existing ones. Taken together, the entire package is intends to substantially expand the pipeline of talent in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
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