For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 29, 2002
President Signs "Help America Vote Act of 2002"
Statement by the President
Today I have signed into law H.R. 3295, the "Help America Vote Act
of 2002." This Act comports with the basic principles set forth in the
final report of the bipartisan National Commission on Federal Election
Reform, which I endorsed in July of 2001. Consequently, the Act
appropriately respects the primacy of State and local governments in
the administration of elections, while helping to ensure the integrity
and efficiency of voting processes in Federal elections by providing
Federal governmental support for that vital endeavor.
Section 203(a)(2) of the Act mandates that members of the
congressional leadership submit to the President recommendations of
persons to be appointed to the Election Assistance Commission -- an
entity, created by the Act, that will exercise significant governmental
functions of an executive nature. The executive branch will not
construe this provision as establishing the submission of congressional
recommendations as a condition precedent to presidential nomination of
persons for appointment to the Commission. Such a construction would
impose impermissible constraints on presidential power under the
Appointments Clause of the Constitution.
Section 203(a)(4) purports to require the President to make
appointments to the Commission no later than 120 days after enactment
of the new law. As with the provision regarding recommendations for
appointment, this deadline unduly circumscribes the presidential
appointment power. Moreover, this deadline is practically impossible
to satisfy given the time required for the pre-nomination personnel
process and confirmation by the full Senate. For these reasons, the
executive branch shall interpret this provision as advisory.
Section 902(c) would authorize the Comptroller General, an officer
of the legislative branch, to make determinations that would impose
binding payment obligations upon entities outside that branch. Because
this provision attempts to vest executive functions in the Comptroller
General, it violates the constitutional principle of separation of
powers.
Finally, the executive branch shall implement section 101,
concerning the provision of voting assistance, in a manner consistent
with the equal protection requirements of the Due Process Clause of the
Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
October 29, 2002.
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