Roger Thornhill
Some irascible old curmudgeon
http://www.indystar.com/articles/2/161787-7102-P.html
Election crisis plan being explored
By George Edmonson
Cox News Service
July 12, 2004
WASHINGTON -- U.S. election officials are exploring what should be done if a terrorist attack or other disaster disrupted the November election, one top official said Sunday.
"We're trying to find out what happens with the presidential election if a state or some major urban area cannot have its election," said Gracia Hillman, vice chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
She said the commission raised the issue in April and then again several weeks ago with the Department of Homeland Security.
Newsweek reported Sunday that Homeland Security has asked the Justice Department what would be required to postpone the election if an attack took place. In its July 19 issue, according to its Web site, Newsweek reports that Homeland Security last week asked the Justice Department to review a letter from U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chairman DeForest B. Soaries Jr. that says no agency has the legal authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election.
Soaries said that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge must seek emergency legislation from Congress giving his agency the power to delay the election, Newsweek reported. Ridge and other officials have said they have no information about specific terrorist plots, the magazine said.
Hillman said the commission, established in 2002 to be a resource on U.S. election procedures, wants measures in place so that election workers and voters would know what to expect.
"We feel the responsible thing is to have a plan," Hillman said. That would help avoid the perception that a response to an event was being handled in a partisan manner, she said.
In addition to the threat of terrorism, Hillman said, a natural disaster could create havoc.
"I think the United States has been lucky it's not been tested on this," she said. "We've had bad weather on Election Day, but not to the point where a significant portion of a state or an entire state couldn't report its election result."
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Election crisis plan being explored
By George Edmonson
Cox News Service
July 12, 2004
WASHINGTON -- U.S. election officials are exploring what should be done if a terrorist attack or other disaster disrupted the November election, one top official said Sunday.
"We're trying to find out what happens with the presidential election if a state or some major urban area cannot have its election," said Gracia Hillman, vice chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
She said the commission raised the issue in April and then again several weeks ago with the Department of Homeland Security.
Newsweek reported Sunday that Homeland Security has asked the Justice Department what would be required to postpone the election if an attack took place. In its July 19 issue, according to its Web site, Newsweek reports that Homeland Security last week asked the Justice Department to review a letter from U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chairman DeForest B. Soaries Jr. that says no agency has the legal authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election.
Soaries said that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge must seek emergency legislation from Congress giving his agency the power to delay the election, Newsweek reported. Ridge and other officials have said they have no information about specific terrorist plots, the magazine said.
Hillman said the commission, established in 2002 to be a resource on U.S. election procedures, wants measures in place so that election workers and voters would know what to expect.
"We feel the responsible thing is to have a plan," Hillman said. That would help avoid the perception that a response to an event was being handled in a partisan manner, she said.
In addition to the threat of terrorism, Hillman said, a natural disaster could create havoc.
"I think the United States has been lucky it's not been tested on this," she said. "We've had bad weather on Election Day, but not to the point where a significant portion of a state or an entire state couldn't report its election result."
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.