text: [Federal Register Volume 77, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2012)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 57486-57492] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2012-22950] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary 32 CFR Part 233 [DOD-2008-OS-0049] RIN 0790-AI27 Federal Voting Assistance Program AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness/Federal Voting Assistance Program, DoD. ACTION: Interim final rule ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This rule concerns the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). It provides direction and guidance to the Department of Defense and other Federal departments and agencies in establishing voting assistance programs for citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) as modified by the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. The 2012 election cycle starts with the January 10, 2012 New Hampshire Presidential Preference Primary and continues through the November 6, 2012 General Election. This 2012 election schedule requires that the policies and procedures set forth in the rule must be in place to ensure that citizens voting under UOCAVA are fully guided and supported through established voting assistance programs within the Federal departments and agencies. Therefore, this rule is being established as an interim final rule to allow promulgation of appropriate direction and guidance prior to completion of a public comment period. DATES: Effective date: September 18, 2012. Comment date: Comments must be received by November 19, 2012. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) number and title, by any of the following methods:Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, 2nd floor, East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350- 3100. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number or RIN for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Godley, (703) 588-8108. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Part 233 establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the Federal Voting Assistance Program. It establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the development and implementation of installation voter assistance (IVA) offices. This part establishes policy for the development and implementation, jointly with each State, of procedures for persons to apply to register to vote at recruitment offices of the Military Services. Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' and Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review'' It has been certified that 32 CFR part 233 does not: (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy; a section of the economy; productivity; competition; jobs; the environment; public health or safety; or State, local, or tribal governments or communities; (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another Agency; (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs, or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in these Executive Orders. Sec. 202, Public Law 104-4, ``Unfunded Mandates Reform Act'' It has been certified that 32 CFR part 233 does not contain a Federal mandate [[Page 57487]] that may result in expenditure by State, local and tribal governments, in aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. Public Law 96-354, ``Regulatory Flexibility Act'' (5 U.S.C. 601) It has been certified that 32 CFR part 233 is not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601) because it would not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Public Law 96-511, ``Paperwork Reduction Act'' (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) It has been certified that 32 CFR part 233 does impose reporting or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Two surveys are conducted after the election cycle. OMB has approved these surveys under the following OMB Control Numbers: 0704-0125, ``Post-Election Survey of Local Election Officials,'' and 0704-0476, ``Post-Election Survey of Overseas Citizens.'' A 60-day notice requesting comments on the revised collections will be published in January 2012 and the revised collections should be ready for submission to OMB in the May/June 2012 timeframe. Executive Order 13132, ``Federalism'' It has been certified that 32 CFR part 233 does not have federalism implications, as set forth in Executive Order 13132. This rule does not have substantial direct effects on: (1) The States; (2) The relationship between the National Government and the States; or (3) The distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of Government. List of Subjects in 32 CFR Part 233 Voting rights, civil rights, elections, voter registration, voting. 0 Accordingly 32 CFR part 233 is added to read as follows: PART 233--FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (FVAP) Sec. 233.1 Purpose 233.2 Applicability 233.3 Definitions 233.4 Policy 233.5 Responsibilities 233.6 Procedures Authority: EO 12642; 10 U.S.C. 1566a; 42 U.S.C 1973gg-5; 42 U.S.C. 1973ff--1973ff-6 Sec. 233.1 Purpose. This part: (a) Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the FVAP in accordance with Executive Order 12642 and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1973ff-6. (b) Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the development and implementation of installation voter assistance (IVA) offices in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 1566a. (c) Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the development and implementation, jointly with each State, of procedures for persons to apply to register to vote at recruitment offices of the Military Services in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5. Sec. 233.2 Applicability. This part applies to: (a) The Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Departments (including the Coast Guard at all times, including when it is a Service in the Department of Homeland Security by agreement with that Department), the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG DoD), the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the DoD (hereinafter referred to collectively as the ``DoD Components''). (b) The Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS), under agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under agreement with the Department of Commerce. The term ``uniformed services'' refers to the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and their Reserve Components, as well as the Commissioned Corps of the PHS and the NOAA. (c) Other Federal Executive departments and agencies with employees assigned outside the United States that provide assistance to the FVAP under 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(c). Recommended procedures for these departments and agencies are contained in Sec. 233.6(c) of this part. Sec. 233.3 Definitions. Terms used in this part are defined in Joint Publication 1-02 (available at http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/) and this section. These terms and their definitions are for the purpose of this part. Eligible voter. Any of the following: (1) Absent uniformed services voter: (i) A member of a uniformed service on active duty who, by reason of such active duty, is absent from the place of residence where the member is otherwise qualified to vote. (ii) A member of the merchant marine who, by reason of service in the merchant marine, is absent from the place of residence where the member is otherwise qualified to vote. (iii) A spouse or dependent of a member referred to in the first two sentences of this definition who, by reason of the active duty or service of the member, is absent from the place of residence where the spouse or dependent is otherwise qualified to vote. (2) Overseas voter: (i) An absent uniformed services voter who, by reason of active duty or service, is absent from the United States on the date of the election involved; (ii) A person who resides outside of the United States and is qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States; or (iii) A person who resides outside of the United States and (but for such residence) would be qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States. Federal office. The offices of President or Vice President; Presidential Elector; or of Senator or Representative in; or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress. Installation voter assistance (IVA) offices. The office designated by the installation commander to provide voter assistance to military personnel, voting-age military dependents, Government employees, contractors, and other civilian U.S. citizens with access to the installation. IVA offices also serve as voter registration agencies pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5(a)(2). Installation voter assistance officer (IVAO). An individual responsible for voting assistance coordination at the installation level. Metrics. A systematic means of measuring essential management information for reporting, control, and process improvement. Recruitment offices of the Military Services. Any office of a military service open to the public and engaged in the recruitment of persons for appointment or enlistment in an Active Component of the Military Services. This does not include Army National Guard and Air National Guard recruiting offices. Senior service voting representative (SSVR). A uniformed member at the 0-7 grade, or higher, or a member of the Senior Executive Service responsible for implementing the FVAP in his or her respective component. [[Page 57488]] Service voting action officer (SVAO). An individual at a uniformed service headquarters level responsible for voting assistance operations for his or her respective component. State. As defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6. State election. Any non-Federal election held solely, or in part, for selecting, nominating, or electing any candidate for any State office, such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Attorney General, or State Legislator, or on issues of Statewide interest. Uniformed services. As defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6(7). Unit voting assistance officer (UVAO). An individual responsible for voting assistance at the unit level. Voter registration agency. An office designated pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5 to perform voter registration activities. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5(c), a recruitment office of the Military Services is considered to be a voter registration agency. All IVA offices are also designated as voter registration agencies pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973gg- 5(a)(2). Sec. 233.4 Policy. It is DoD policy that: (a) The FVAP shall ensure that eligible voters receive, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(5), information about registration and voting procedures and materials pertaining to scheduled elections, including dates, offices, constitutional amendments, and other ballot proposals. (b) The right of U.S. citizens to vote is a fundamental right that is afforded protection by the U.S. Constitution. Every eligible voter shall: (1) Be given an opportunity to register and vote in any election for which he or she is eligible. (2) Be able to vote in person or by absentee. (c) All persons assisting in the voting process shall take all necessary steps to prevent discrimination, fraud, intimidation or coercion, and unfair registration and voting assistance procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, preventing actions such as: (1) Using military authority to influence the vote of any other member of the uniformed services or to require any member to march to any polling place or place of voting as proscribed by 18 U.S.C. 592, 18 U.S.C. 593, and 18 U.S.C. 609. This subsection does not, in any way, prohibit free discussion about political issues or candidates for public office as stated in 18 U.S.C. 609. (2) Polling any member of the uniformed services before or after he or she votes, as proscribed in 18 U.S.C. 596. (d) The FVAP shall conduct official surveys authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff to report to the President and the Congress on the effectiveness of the assistance provided to eligible voters (including a separate statistical analysis of voter participation and a description of Federal-State cooperation). (e) DoD personnel involved in assisting in the voter registration or absentee voting process shall use the names of persons applying or declining to register to vote only for voter registration purposes and shall not release such information for any other purpose. (f) Military or civilian personnel employed in recruitment offices of the Military Services shall be subject to the restrictions outlined in Sec. 233.6(b) of this part. (g) An installation commander may permit non-partisan voter registration activities on an installation by State and county officials, or groups recognized in accordance with section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code, subject to all applicable military installation rules and regulations governing such activities on military installations. Sec. 233.5 Responsibilities. (a) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) shall: (1) Execute the responsibilities of the Presidential designee in accordance with DoD Directive 5124.02 (available at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/512402p.pdf). (2) Administer the FVAP in accordance with Executive Order 12642, 10 U.S.C. 1566a, 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5, and 42 U.S.C. 1973ff--1973ff-6. (3) Coordinate and implement actions that may be necessary to discharge Federal responsibilities assigned in DoD Directive 5124.02, Executive Order 12642, 10 U.S.C. 1566, 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff--1973ff-6, Section 1604 of Public Law 107-107, ``The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002,'' and Section 567 of Public Law 108-375, ``The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005''. (4) Develop policy and procedures to implement DoD responsibilities under 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5 (also known as the ``National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)''). (5) Grant or deny any hardship exemption waivers submitted by a State pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(g) (after consultation with the Attorney General's designee) and inform the State of the results of the waiver request. (6) Ensure that the Director, Department of Defense Human Resources Activity (DoDHRA) designates a civilian Director of the FVAP, who shall be responsible for all aspects of the FVAP, and shall have the necessary authority to administer that responsibility, as described in Sec. 233.6(a) of this part. (b) The Director, DoDHRA, under the authority, direction, and control of the USD(P&R), shall: (1) In coordination with the USD(P&R), designate an office by name for the execution of the FVAP. (2) Ensure that the Director, FVAP carries out the responsibilities identified in Procedures. (c) The IG DoD, in addition to the responsibilities in paragraph (d) of this section, shall: (1) Provide to Congress an independent analysis of and report on the utilization and effectiveness of voting assistance programs, and the level of compliance with voting assistance programs of the Military Departments, in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 1566. (2) Provide the Director, FVAP, along with the respective senior service representative, with copies of supporting data collected during the reviews and analyses conducted under paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section. (d) The Chief, National Guard Bureau, in addition to the responsibilities in paragraph (d) of this section shall: (1) Designate in writing a uniformed officer or a civilian employee of the appropriate grade as the SSVR to manage the voting assistance program within the National Guard. (2) Designate a SVAO, preferably a civilian employee (GS-12 or higher), to assist the SSVR and who shall be responsible for voting assistance operations within the National Guard. (3) The Adjutants General of the National Guard of the States and Territories shall inform the State or territory chief election official when National Guard units are mobilized or placed in a Federal status. (e) The Heads of the DoD Components and the Uniformed Services shall disseminate voting information and assist eligible voters, as required, in their respective organization, following the procedures in Sec. 233.6(b) of this part. (f) The Combatant Commanders, in addition to the responsibilities in paragraph (d) of this section, shall: (1) Ensure that deployed forces have access to Federal voting information and assistance, particularly in remote locations. To the extent practicable, provide uniformed services members under their command with access to computers with Internet capability and other necessary resources including, but [[Page 57489]] not limited to, printers and scanners for absentee voting purposes. (2) Emphasize, within the operational chain of command, the importance that they and the DoD attach to participation by uniformed service members in the Federal, State, and local election process and make every reasonable effort to assist the Military Services in discharging the responsibilities outlined elsewhere in this part. Sec. 233.6 Procedures. (a) FVAP Procedures. The Director, FVAP, shall: (1) Manage, coordinate, and perform the Presidential designee's responsibilities pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. (3) Encourage and assist States and other U.S. jurisdictions to adopt the mandatory and recommended provisions of 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1 and ensure they are aware of the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. (4) Establish and maintain contact with State election officials, State legislators, and with other State and local government officials to improve the absentee voting process for the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) citizens. Consult with the Defense State Liaison Office which is the DoD office for contact and coordination with Federal, State, and local government entities for legislative and other policy matters involving voting assistance and elections pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq. (5) Obtain, from each State, current voter registration and absentee voting information and disseminate it to other Federal Executive departments, agencies, DoD Components and voters qualified to vote, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(5). (6) Establish and maintain a voting assistance program to assist all eligible voters as covered by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq., and to assist those persons to vote. (7) Establish and maintain an FVAP Web site that provides: (i) Information to citizens on the voter registration and absentee voting process. (ii) Information on the means of electronic transmission of election materials allowed by each State. (iii) A method to assist citizens in the voter registration process and how to request an absentee ballot. (iv) A list of State contact information in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(e)(4). (v) The ability to print a Standard Form (SF) 186, ``Federal Write- In Absentee Ballot,'' and a list of all candidates in a Federal election. (vi) A portal that hosts Service-specific information regarding voting assistance programs, including links to IVA offices; the contact information for voting assistance officers (installation, major command and commissioned units) within the DoD Component; procedures to order voting materials; and links to other Federal and State voting Web sites. (vii) Absentee ballot data reported under 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(6) and (b)(11) and 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4A. (viii) Other information as deemed necessary by Director, FVAP. (8) Survey U.S. citizens including, but not limited to uniformed services and their dependents as well as overseas U.S. civilians covered by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq., voting assistance officers (VAOs), and election officials to gather necessary statistical information and prepare the reports to the President and the Congress required by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(6) and 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-4A. (9) Prescribe the standard oath to be used with any document pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(7). (10) Coordinate with the Military Postal Service Agency, as addressed in DoD 4525.6-M (available at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/452506m.pdf), to implement measures to ensure a postmark or other proof of mailing date is provided on each absentee ballot collected at any overseas location or vessel at sea, and that voting materials are moved expeditiously to the maximum extent practicable by military postal authorities. (11) As a component of a comprehensive marketing and voter education initiative, establish a means to inform absent uniformed services members of absentee voting information and resources 90, 60, and 30 days before each Federal election pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff- 2B(a)(2). (12) Develop standards, working with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the Chief State election official of each State, for the States to report data on the number of absentee ballots transmitted and received during a regularly scheduled general election for Federal office pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(11). Provide a means to store the collected data and make the data available to the public. (13) Establish procedures, in consultation with the Attorney General, regarding hardship exemption waivers submitted by a State pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1(g). (14) Prescribe the required voting program metrics to be used by the DoD Components and uniformed services to be used in evaluating their individual voting assistance programs, and report on compliance with those metrics. To the extent practicable, establish and maintain an online portal to collect and consolidate voting program metrics. (15) Provide technology programs to assist uniformed service and overseas voters in registering to vote, applying for an absentee ballot, receiving an absentee ballot, and to the extent required by section 1604 of Public Law (Pub. L.) 107-107, as amended by section 567 of Public Law 108-375, returning a voted ballot. (16) Develop and coordinate with the States the implementation and operational procedures for persons to apply to register to vote at recruitment offices of the Military Services. Assist the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy with the implementation of section 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5(c) as it applies to recruitment offices within the DoD. (17) In coordination with the Services, develop multiple types of training materials for use by IVA offices, IVAOs, UVAOs, and recruiters to provide voter registration and absentee ballot assistance and at recruitment offices of the Military Services to provide voter registration assistance. Conduct voting assistance training during even-numbered years worldwide. (18) Analyze the impact of providing voter registration assistance and make recommendations for improvements in Federal and State procedures, forms, and laws affected by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq. (19) Maintain multiple lines of support for use by uniformed services and overseas voters, personnel assigned to recruitment offices of the Military Services and State election officials to provide assistance outlined pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. (b) DoD Component and Uniformed Services Procedures. The DoD Components and the uniformed services shall: (1) Develop written voting-related policies to support all eligible uniformed services personnel and their family members including those in deployed, dispersed, and tenant organizations. Establish the ratio and maximum number of voters who may be represented by a VAO. (2) Ensure command support at all levels for the FVAP. (3) Designate in writing a uniformed officer of flag grade or a civilian employee in the Senior Executive Service in each uniformed service as the SSVR to manage the respective Service voting programs. (4) Designate a SVAO, preferably a civilian employee (General Schedule (GS)-12 or higher), to assist the SSVR and who shall be responsible for voting [[Page 57490]] assistance operations within his or her Service. (i) If the SVAO is a military member, he or she should be at least of pay grade O-4 (if an officer) or E-8 (if enlisted) and shall be a permanently assigned member within the SSVR's organization. (ii) The chief or director of each Reserve Component shall designate an SVAO to coordinate with the SSVR and the Director, FVAP to maintain a contingency absentee voting program for the National Guard and Reserve units and personnel who have been activated and deployed. (5) Establish IVA offices on each military installation and maintain an updated list of IVA offices, including location, address, hours of operation, phone number and email address, published on the Service voting assistance Web site. At the discretion of the installation commander, satellite offices may be established under the primary IVA office. (i) The IVA office will provide voter assistance to military personnel, their dependents, civilian Federal employees, and all qualified voters who have access to such installation offices. IVA offices shall also serve as voter registration agencies under 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5(a)(2). (ii) The IVA office shall be established within the installation headquarters organization reporting directly to the installation commander, even if geographically located in another office. (iii) The IVA office should be located in a well-advertised, fixed location, consistent throughout the Service, and should be physically co-located with an existing office that receives extensive visits by Service personnel, family members, and DoD civilians. The IVA office shall be staffed during the hours the installation office is open with trained personnel to provide direct assistance in registration and voting procedures, including the assistance required under 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5(a)(4). (iv) The IVA office shall: (A) Be included in the administrative in-processing and out- processing activities required of reporting and detaching personnel. (B) Ensure that uniformed services members, their voting-age dependents, and overseas DoD civilians are provided proper voting assistance at the IVA office, including the opportunity to update their voter registration information through the submission of a revised SF 76, ``Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)'' or National Mail Voter Registration Form. (C) Ensure that voting assistance is provided to all personnel, military and civilian, reporting for duty on the installation, detaching from duty, deploying, and returning from deployment of 6 months or longer. (1) SF 76s shall be used to notify local election officials of the change of mailing address for absentee ballot delivery purposes. (2) Uniformed services members who are being released from active duty shall be advised to notify their local election office that they are no longer covered under 42 U.S.C. 1973ff and shall be provided the opportunity to submit a National Mail Voter Registration Form. (D) Ensure that all small and geographically separated units are provided voting assistance. (E) Provide written information on voter registration and absentee ballot procedures. This can be met by providing the applicant with the SF 76, SF 186, (if applicable), or the National Mail Voter Registration Form, the attached instructions for those forms, and the State-specific instructions from the Voting Assistance Guide (available at http://www.fvap.gov) for absent uniformed services voters, voting-age dependent voters, and overseas civilians. Citizens may also be provided with all of the necessary resources including, but not limited to, access to a computer system connected to the Internet, a printer, and a scanner to use the FPCA wizard available at the FVAP Web site, www.fvap.gov. (1) SF 76 and SF 186 (if applicable) shall be provided to absent uniformed services personnel and their family members (within and outside of the United States) and to Federal civilian employees and other U.S. citizens who have access to an IVA office outside the United States. (2) The National Mail Voter Registration Form shall be provided to Federal civilian employees and other U.S. citizens who have access to the IVA office within the United States, and to uniformed services voters who currently reside in their voting districts. (F) Provide direct assistance to individuals in completing the forms necessary to register to vote, update their voter registration information, and request absentee ballots. (G) Collect from the voter and transmit the completed SF 76 or National Mail Voter Registration Form for the applicant, within 5 calendar days, to the appropriate local election office. (H) Maintain voting program metrics as coordinated with and prescribed by the Director, FVAP and furnish a report, via their SVAO, to the Director, FVAP each calendar quarter or as requested. (6) Designate VAOs, in writing, at every level of command; assign one VAO on each installation and in each major command to coordinate the programs conducted by subordinate units and tenant commands. (i) For continuity, individuals assigned as IVAOs should serve for 18 months beginning in October of the year immediately prior to a regularly scheduled general election for Federal offices and concluding in March of the year immediately following a regularly scheduled general election for Federal offices. (ii) Ensure that VAOs are available and equipped to assist voters for all elections. VAOs shall be provided the time and resources needed to perform their voting assistance duties. (iii) When uniformed services personnel (including noncommissioned officers) are designated as VAOs this part authorizes them to administer oaths in connection with voter registration and voting. (7) Designate IVAOs, preferably civilians (GS-12 or higher) with access to the installation commander. If a uniformed services member is assigned as the IVAO, that officer should hold the pay grade of O-4 or higher; however, it is preferable to assign an enthusiastic volunteer who is outside this rank and grade guidance rather than assign a less enthusiastic member who meets the criterion. (i) The IVAO shall complete FVAP training before assuming the duties of the IVAO. (ii) The IVAO shall work closely with the IVA office to coordinate the unit-level voting assistance programs implemented on that installation. (iii) Each IVAO shall notify installation personnel of the last date before a general election for Federal offices by which absentee ballots must be mailed to reasonably be delivered in time to State and local election officials and of general mail delivery deadlines recommended by the Military Postal Service Agency. (8) Designate and assign, in writing, a UVAO, at the O-2/E-7 level or above, within each unit of 25 or more permanently assigned members. It is preferable to assign an enthusiastic volunteer who is outside this rank and grade guidance rather than assign a less enthusiastic member who meets the criterion. (i) A UVAO shall complete FVAP training prior to assuming the duties of the UVAO as specified in this rule. Unit commanders shall, to the extent practicable, provide funding to enable their UVAOs to attend in-person training. [[Page 57491]] (ii) An additional UVAO should be assigned for each additional 50 members above the 25-member base. (iii) UVAOs shall ensure that all small and geographically separated units are assisted. (iv) UVAOs may advise and assist the IVA office in fulfilling the voter assistance functions for deploying personnel, personnel returning from deployment, and personnel recording a change of address. However, the individual in charge of the IVA office is responsible to require that UVAOs have fully complied with the voter assistance responsibilities as described in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. (9) Require that uniformed services members and their voting-age dependents have ready access to absentee voter registration, ballot request and absentee ballot submission information, deadlines, and recommended mailing dates to meet those deadlines. This information must be available online and in written format for those citizens who do not have access to online documents. (10) Expeditiously obtain and disseminate to eligible voters, voting information and related materials, such as the Voting Assistance Guide, SF 76, and SF 186. (11) Provide sufficient registration and ballot request materials to support all elections. (12) Establish within each military installation and major command a VAO network and communications capability to quickly disseminate voting information throughout the installation or major command. Establish a DoD Component-wide means to communicate effectively with and expeditiously disseminate voting information to Commanders, VAOs, and uniformed services and overseas DoD civilian members of the DoD Component and their voting age dependents. This communication effort should be coordinated with the FVAP. (13) Develop a DoD Component-wide communications plan to provide information on the absentee voting process (including State registration and absentee ballot deadlines and the effective deadlines for mailing from overseas and remote locations to meet those State deadlines), encourage voting participation, schedule voting communications from Component leaders, and program the distribution of voting materials. (14) Develop a distribution system to deliver SF 76s directly to all eligible voters either through in-hand delivery or through electronic means. (15) The delivery of SF 76s shall be accomplished: (i) By January 15 of each calendar year to eligible voters and, to the extent practicable, their voting-age dependents. (ii) By July 15 of even-numbered years to eligible voters and, to the extent practicable, voting-age dependents. (iii) Before graduation and detachment from recruit training. These SF 76s shall be used to notify local election officials of the change of mailing address for absentee ballot delivery purposes. (16) Require the Inspectors General of the Military Departments to review their voting assistance program annually, and at every level of command, to ensure compliance with 10 U.S.C. 1566a, 42 U.S.C. 1973gg-5, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff--1973ff-6, 18 U.S.C. 592, 18 U.S.C. 609, DoD 8910.1-M (available at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/891001m.pdf), and DoD 4525.6-M. A copy of this report shall be submitted to the IG DoD along with supporting statistical information to the Director, FVAP, by January 31 of the following year pursuant to 10 U.S.C. (17) Continually evaluate command voting assistance programs. Program metrics shall be reported to the Director, FVAP, as prescribed by paragraph n. in Enclosure 3. (18) Establish and maintain a direct link from the DoD Component's Web site to the Web site designated by the Director, FVAP. (19) Develop comprehensive command-wide voting awareness, assistance programs, and activities in accordance with the requirement of paragraph (15)(i) of this section to annually deliver SF76s by January 15. ``Armed Forces Voters Week'' will be advertised to encourage voter registration drives. (20) Establish and maintain a standard email address of the form Vote@(unit).(Service).mil, Vote.(unit)@(Service).mil or similar format to contact all UVAOs within that Service. (21) Annually train all uniformed service members (including activated National Guard and Reserve personnel) on absentee registration and voting procedures. (i) All basic training and command courses shall emphasize and advertise voting assistance programs to encourage service members to register and subsequently vote by offering instruction on voting rights and responsibilities and procedures on absentee registration and voting. (ii) Provide training and voting assistance for units preparing for deployment where voting materials and accessibility to register may be limited due to at-sea or remote area deployment. (iii) Retain records of training conducted, including dates and attendees, at the unit level for at least 1 calendar year. (22) Require that all major command, installation, and UVAOs attend an FVAP voting assistance workshop during even-numbered years with elections for Federal offices. If the installation is not scheduled to receive FVAP workshop training, installation and UVAOs should attend training at a nearby installation. VAOs at remote locations can access the FVAP Web site for training. Documentation of VAO training at the installation or base level shall be stored within local personnel records. (23) To the greatest extent practicable, ensure voters who are eligible to cast absentee ballots on DoD facilities are able to do so in a private and independent manner. (24) Protect the privacy of the contents of absentee ballots while under DoD control. Voters who vote locally at polling sites should be provided time to vote during working hours. (25) File an annual after-action report to the Director, FVAP, in the format and manner specified by the Director, FVAP. (26) Assist the FVAP in conducting official surveys in the manner specified by the Director, FVAP. (27) Refrain from contacting State and local government officials about voting policy matters. The Director, Defense State Liaison Office, in consultation with the Director, FVAP, shall be the DoD representative for coordination with Federal, State, and local government entities for legislative and other policy matters involving voting assistance and elections pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq. (i) IVAOs, major command voting assistance officers, and SVAOs are encouraged to discuss voting policy concerns with FVAP, and may work with FVAP on such issues at the Director, FVAP's request. (ii) IVAOs, major command voting assistance officers, and SVAOs may contact local election officials to help resolve any specific problem involving voter registration or absentee voting on behalf of the voter, or to engage appropriate local election official assistance for a voter registration drive or similar event on an installation. (28) Consolidate and provide quarterly statistical information and records on voter registration assistance provided by the UVAOs and the IVA offices in a format prescribed by the Director, FVAP. (29) Ensure all personnel assigned to transition assistance program offices are informed of the policies in this part and [[Page 57492]] are trained to provide materials educating transitioning personnel on their civilian voting rights and responsibilities. Transition assistance program offices shall work with the Director, FVAP, to provide pre-printed notices that transitioning personnel may use to inform their election offices that they no longer will vote absentee in accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. (30) Ensure all personnel assigned to recruitment offices are informed of the policies in this part and are trained to provide voter registration assistance. Ensure the recruitment offices of the Military Services: (i) Provide each prospective enlistee with the National Mail Voter Registration Form, available at http://www.eac.gov/voter/Register_to_Vote, and DD Form 2645, Voter Registration Information Form, available at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/forminfo/forminfopage2084.html, unless the applicant, in writing, declines to register to vote. (ii) Distribute the National Mail Voter Registration Form to each eligible citizen and provide assistance in completing the form unless the applicant refuses such assistance. (iii) Provide each eligible citizen or prospective enlistee who does not decline to register to vote the same degree of assistance for the completion of the National Mail Voter Registration Form as is provided by the office for the completion of its own forms, e.g., the application for enlistment, unless the person refuses such assistance. (iv) Transmit all completed registration applications within 5 calendar days to the appropriate State election officials. (v) Maintain statistical information and records on voter registration assistance provided by recruitment offices in the format prescribed by the Director, FVAP, for a period of two years, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1973gg(6)(i). (31) Ensure that inspections of recruitment offices of the Military Services by the Service Inspectors General are in compliance with this part. (32) As discussed in DoD 4525.6-M, the Director, Military Postal Service Agency shall: (i) Implement measures in consultation with the FVAP, to the maximum extent practicable, to ensure that a postmark or other proof of mailing date is provided on each absentee ballot collected at any overseas location or vessel at sea and that voting materials are moved expeditiously, to the maximum extent practicable, by military postal authorities. (ii) Develop an outreach plan to inform overseas uniformed services voters regarding the ballot collection and delivery service to be implemented prior to each general election for Federal office. (iii) Establish alternative deadlines for collecting and forwarding absentee ballots from overseas locations as required by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. (33) Revise all voting assistance program instructions and procedures to incorporate the provisions of this part. (c) Executive Department and Agency Procedures. (1) Federal Executive departments and agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Health and Human Services, are encouraged to adopt regulations and procedures that conform to this part to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with their organizational missions. By doing so, the FVAP will be able to assist the Executive departments, agencies, and their voting constituencies to the maximum extent. (2) The head of each Government department, agency, or other entity shall distribute balloting materials and develop a non-partisan program of information and education for all employees and family members pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973ff(c). (i) The department or agency is responsible for providing voter assistance with assistance available from the FVAP. (ii) Each department or agency with employees or family members covered by 42 U.S.C. 1973ff shall designate an individual to coordinate and administer a voting assistance program for the department or agency to include, where practicable, the responsibilities in this part. The name, address, and telephone number of this individual shall be provided to the Director, FVAP. (iii) The Secretary of State shall designate a voting action officer at the Department of State headquarters to oversee the Department's program as well as a U.S. citizen at each U.S. embassy or consulate to assist, to the fullest extent practicable, other U.S. citizens residing outside of the United States who are eligible to vote. The Secretary of State shall provide annually, or as requested by the Director, FVAP, estimates of the numbers of U.S. citizens currently residing in each country with an established embassy. (iv) Each embassy and consulate should have sufficient quantities of materials to include SF 76s, and SF 186s, needed by U.S. citizens to register and vote. Embassies and consulates will also inform and educate U.S. citizens regarding their right to register and vote, and will publicize voter assistance programs. (v) The Department of State's voting action officer shall coordinate with the Director, FVAP, in the development and conduct of voting events, programs to inform and educate U.S. citizens outside of the United States, and provision of voting information and resources for assistance. (vi) Department of State and the Military Service voting action officers shall assist, as requested, embassy and consulate VAOs with post-election surveys of civilians outside of the United States. Dated: September 12, 2012. Patricia L. Toppings, OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. [FR Doc. 2012-22950 Filed 9-17-12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P


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Originally published on Wed December 25, 2013 5:04 pm
Good morning, I'm David Greene. Wisconsin knows this well: When you make more than two billion pounds of cheese a year, it creates the salty byproduct - cheese brine. Normally you discard it, but folks in Milwaukee had an idea. Why not use that salty stuff to de-ice roads? Local officials are especially excited about provolone and mozzarella with their high salt content. The city hopes more cheese brine and less rock salt will be cheaper and better for the environment, even if it means holding our noses. You're listening to MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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HR Process Realignment
In her memorandum of June 26, 2012, Chancellor Brady discussed the realignment of certain EPA functions into the Office of Human Resources in order to maximize existing resources and streamline services. Over the past few months, Academic Affairs, Human Resources, and the Chancellor's Office have worked together to review and consolidate certain processes. The focus of these efforts has been to ensure continuity and seamlessness for the campus community in the transition.
Effective October 1, 2012 Human Resources will assume responsibility for administration of EPA nonfaculty compensation, employee relations, policy matters, and payroll processes. All EPA faculty processes including faculty appointment, reappointment, promotion, tenure, and compensation will be handled by Academic Affairs. We are currently developing an online employment system for hiring of EPA faculty and EPA non-faculty positions. When this system is launched in January, Human Resources will coordinate and maintain the system on behalf of the University. At that time, all EPA non-faculty hiring processes will be coordinated by Human Resources.
As part of the realignment, Maria "Cati" Munoz and Marcia Rey will be moving to Human Resources and will continue to handle EPA non-faculty transaction processing under the supervision of Benita Peace, Director of Talent Management and Affirmative Action Officer.
- Questions on EPA non-faculty policy, compensation, and employee relations can be directed to Edna Chun.
- Questions on EPA non-faculty payroll processing can be directed to Benita Peace.
- Faculty members with questions about personnel policy or a specific employment matter should continue to contact Alan Boyette.
- Questions regarding faculty personnel processes should be directed to Andrea Whitley.
Realignment Documents
Please note: some items require the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, which can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
Please note: some items require a free Microsoft Office Viewer. Please select the appropriate viewer and download it from the Microsoft website. Each Office file type link is labelled as such.


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The above is my misquoting of Orwell. It reminded me, when I read it, of working in the Irish health service, and why I came here. It reminded me also of the recent serious medical error in Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, and the subsequent root cause analysis.
As I read the root cause analysis that had been carried out by the consultants and patient safety and complaints manager from Great Ormond St hospital in the UK, for almost every single systems error they listed as a contributory factor, I felt a shiver of familiar recognition. Although I have never worked in either Surgery (except as an intern) or Paediatrics, I have many times been confronted with similar incomprehensible, inefficient, error prone, unnecessarily labour intensive and ultimately potentially dangerous systems in the Irish hospital environment. Despite the frontline staff being actually superior to and more well trained than many other developed countries' medical and nursing staff (Irish doctors and nurses are usually highly sought after and respected in NZ, Oz, USA and Canada) the working environment they face every day and night and the systems they navigate are at least twenty years out of date, thousands to millions of euros underfunded, and those that decide upon these systems often completely out of touch with the reality of working and being a patient in them. The above sentence was quite long. Possibly not grammatically correct. But you get the picture. In the root cause analysis of the series of unfortunate events that led to the ultimate error, eight factors were identified as being particularly responsible. Going through these one by one: 1) Delays in filing hard copy x-ray reports in the medical records, and lack of reference to an electronic copy: The leading children's hospital in the country's capital STILL DOESN'T HAVE PACS?! (Picture Archiving and Communication System) Of the four hospitals in which I have worked in Ireland, three did not have PACS, and of those three, two were tertiary centres. For those of you who don't know what PACS is, it is a computerized system for displaying and storing radiology imaging and reports. You type in the patient's medical records number and ALL their previous imaging, Xrays, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs and the associated reports are there, instantly. You can compare two chest Xrays from different dates, side by side, if you like, to assess for any changes over time. You can do this anywhere in the whole hospital that there is a computer. You do not run around like some sort of nut frantically searching through pile after heavy pile of hard copies, spending often an hour to find one or two films when you should be doing your ward work, which you then have to disturb the radiologist for to get a verbal report, which then makes them slower, which then makes all other reports happen more slowly, which causes waiting for results, which keeps people in hospital….. You just click with your mouse, like you SHOULD be able to in the bloody noughties, and what you need to diagnose/treat/plan comes up. Reports are all instantly accessible and attached to the images so you can even teach yourself a little something sometimes. Mind you, in most of the hospitals I worked in there weren't enough computers to even bother having PACS in the hospital anyway. My current NZ hospital has on average four desk based computers per ward that are only for checking results, not counting the ward clerk's one (I counted yesterday), and three mobile laptops on stands with wheels that you bring around with you on the ward round to check patient results with instead of forcing your sleep deprived intern to come up with a plausible haemoglobin level when asked. The acute medical assessment unit has two high speed computers in each 6 bed room. The last hospital I worked in Ireland had ONE per ward that the ward clerk used pretty much all day, and you were supposed to check results off of it too. They were shabby old slow puters too. No PACS though, so I suppose it's not like they had to be fast. For the overtime they paid us running around fetching films, and searching for films, and getting verbal and/or paper reports for films, and the increased length of time with resultant costs that patients stayed in hospital waiting for results, and the delays which ensued which also have a detrimental financial outcome on the hospital, they probably could have paid for PACS for a year. They sure as hell coulda bought some more and some better computers. EVERY hospital in Ireland, rural or no, should get PACS as a matter of urgency. It saves time. It saves money. It may save lives. 2) The hospital should give consideration to extending the system of pre-admitting patients into general surgery: Why? It's much easier to force the overworked intern/SHO who has to work a forty hour shift with no sleep to admit someone they don't know from Adam after hours where both services and access to senior advice are pretty limited. Hey with a little intimidation you can probably coerce them to consent for stuff they don't fully understand too. You can do this for time and half of whatever they're paid, on the ward, whereas a dedicated pre-admission clinic is going to cost money. It may pay for itself in time, as eff-ups are infinitely more costly than just doing stuff right the first time, but this has not in my general experience been a concept that is embraced in the current hospital system. Currently where I work now there is a dedicated pre-admission clinic for all surgical patients and a separate one for Cardiology. In the surgical pre-admission clinic each patient sees a nurse, who takes their bloods, does an ECG, and even takes a Group and Hold (gulp, shock, but….but….only a doctor can take those! Right? Don't they spontaneously self destruct or become toxic and venomous if anyone other than a doctor takes them? NO? Come on…. Actually nurses are better at taking Group and Holds. They have been trained to check procedures systematically, and hence rarely, if EVER get these sorts of things wrong. They are the ones who remember to date the IV cannula so it doesn't stay in for two weeks and give the patient raging phlebitis and/or sepsis from same. If there is any doctor reading this who has NEVER been called back because they did something wrong or filled something in, somewhere, incorrectly, on a Group and Hold, I will give you my car. Anyway. I digress. After they get their bloods and ECG done, they see the consultant anaesthetist who examines them, looks at their ECG, and pronounces them fit for surgery. Then they see the house officer who takes their history and examines them. Any concerns are relayed to the registrar of the team the patient will be coming in under. Any consents for anything the house officer isn't familiar with and doesn't know the risks for is taken by either the senior registrar or often the consultant. The house officer charts their regular medications, checks for allergies and then charts some routine post-op analgesia and anti-emetics so there isn't any wait if the patient needs these after theatre. See how the NZ system is NOT error prone? At every step every effort is taken to minimize errors, and maximize the chances of a favourable outcome. See how a random intern or SHO admitting someone during on-call hours with no help, no anaesthetics review available, no senior help, often no way of consenting legally, and minimal nursing input ( this is important! The more a nurse is involved in any aspect of your care, the less likely an error is. They are trained to check, to spot mistakes and nag the team to rectify them. Marginalising them from patient involvement like we do in Ireland is detrimental to patient care) is a system designed to fall down? 3) The hospital should implement a process for initiating formal consent in outpatients, when patients are seen by a clinician who is personally competent to do the procedure and review the imaging, which is more likely (under the present system) to be available at that point. The process should also include a clear standard for the follow-up discussions to be held by the more junior staff who will admit the patient, from any specialty, and describe the circumstances in which the SpR on-call should be contacted, rather than deferring discussions until the following morning where there are significant time pressures. The hospital should consider stipulating that patients who are being admitted for major cases the night before must be re-consented by someone who is competent to perform the procedure and review the imaging: I think I've discussed point three above. We need organised, dedicated, pre-admission clinics. 4) The hospital should introduce a correct site surgery policy, to establish best practice at all the relevant points in the patient's journey, from outpatient review to the point of making the incision in theatre. This policy should take account of recommendations 1 and 3 above. The review team acknowledge that patients are generally admitted to the ward by surgeons who are not considered competent to review imaging. If review of imaging is required in order to safely complete consent and site marking procedures, the hospital should consider stipulating that a more senior surgeon is called to the ward. If this is not achievable then the hospital should ensure that all of the other stages in the site marking procedure are robust enough to counter the risk of an inexperienced surgeon marking the incorrect side - or failing to mark the side - when the patient is admitted: I agree. Again. Could be addressed with dedicated pre-admission clinics and a site marking policy. And consent should not be taken by people who don't know what the procedure entails or what the risks involved are. That isn't consent. Again-pre-admission clinics! 5) The hospital should introduce formal diary monitoring of junior surgical hours in accordance with the requirements of the European Working Time Directive, and in liaison with the appropriate external agencies ensure that the results are factored into ongoing workforce planning: As long as they don't do what they do in the UK, which is force the juniors to lie on their timesheets so that the hospital appears compliant, and then not pay them for the overtime that they did actually do. As long as they don't do that. Hmmmmmm. They wouldn't do that though. Would they??? Working 110 hour weeks with continuous sleep deprived spells of 35-55 hours at a stretch to me does not spell dedication, or generosity, or being exceptional, or even being hardworking. It spells inefficiency, abysmal workforce planning, reliance on out of date labour intensive systems, an inability to speak up, and the potential for danger. Some disagree with me. They are entitled. Many old schoolers think it's a disgrace that the interns and 1st year SHOs in the countries who have brought in working hours reform now aren't the first on to assess patients in the emergency department and the like. They bemoan how it will be the downfall of training, that no-one will be well trained now because they didn't get this acute exposure early on etc etc. I think that it's fantastic. And I'll tell you why. In the Irish system, with house officers of varying levels of experience and occasionally even interns, being the first to see patients, clinical errors are more likely to occur. I've seen and heard of errors that occurred because the SHO or intern had no experience of what they were dealing with, had no experience either in ED or on the wards of the condition they were treating, and the patient appeared to be pretty stable (but wasn't) and they simply did not have the experience to recognise this and did not enlist more senior help. A year or two (or three) on the wards, helping the registrar admit patients in ED, reviewing recently admitted patients on the wards after they have been diagnosed and a plan made by someone more senior, doing post acute ward rounds and learning how to do procedures before finally being the first to assess an unwell person fresh into the Emergency dept, is this really such a bad thing? Is it really going to make a worse, stupider, less experienced doctor at the end of the day? No. It won't. It is true, their experience will be gained at a slightly slower pace, but also at less of a cost to patient care and to the doctors themselves. Ok, the thought of being an SHO in Ireland currently for more than is absolutely necessary makes most people break into a cold sweat, but if you worked humane shifts and had adequate staffing levels and holiday cover like one does Down Under, it would be quite alright really. Here the registrar is required to review each and every patient the house officer admits. All referrals from GPs and ED go through the registrars. It again, is a much less error prone system of admitting acutely unwell patients, and less stressful for the doctors too. Even the registrars. 6) The general surgeons should introduce team briefings at the outset of each theatre list where the day's patients are reviewed, and the list order is indicated per theatre (for parallel lists), and conduct a 'surgical pause' at the beginning of each case: I've never worked in surgery really. I am friends with an orthopod who tells me they have meetings like this for the orthopaedic cases every morning here in NZ. They happen really, really early in the morning, like surgical meetings are wont to do. I don't know whether they had them or not in Ireland routinely. It sounds like something that should be done though. 7) The general surgeons should introduce weekly SpR planning meetings to agree cross-cover and plan elective work. These plans should take into account the time that will be needed to work-up patients with whom the SpR would not otherwise be familiar until the day of surgery. The consultants should be informed of the arrangements and ensure that they discuss their elective lists with cross-covering SpRs, in the same way as they would discuss the lists with their usual SpR: Ah yes. The 'ol "I'm on call, I've got the cardiac arrest bleep, I'm covering the ward patients, I'm supposed to be in theatre and I am currently also supposed to be seeing outpatients in clinic" scenario. Which actually happens ALL the time in Ireland to LOTS and LOTS of doctors. Sometimes these doctors are actually forced into covering for their absent colleagues also. At the same time. It doesn't take Maxwell Smart to figure out that this is not a good arrangement. The attitude is that you are supposed to cope. It is a measure of how good and how professional a doctor you are to be able to do all of this and not let any of it impact your work. In reality no-one can be in all those places, responsible for all those things, and safely provide all those services. A better measure of how good and how professional a doctor is would be how loudly they refused to do this, and how much they complained in writing, and how often they contacted their union to intercede. Anyone who is on call or post take should not be covering outpatients clinic also. Anyone who is in theatre should have someone of comparable level to hand their bleep to-or someone in theatre to answer it, relay the message to them, and someone who can take over if they really do need to scrub out and deal with something pressing. 8)The hospital should ensure that risk management processes are embedded within clinical teams, for example by establishing a clear link between specialty Morbidity & Mortality meetings and central risk management systems. The hospital has consultant sessions dedicated to risk management which is excellent practice and this role could be used to create and promote such links: I again, have not worked in surgery in Ireland. We didn't have M&M meetings in the places I worked in general med, at least the juniors didn't have to attend if there were any. Most places, to be fair, had regular case presentations, and some had consultant provided teaching sessions often incorporating recent interesting cases. Many, too, had scheduled regular meetings between medics and the radiologists, to discuss and review cases, and meetings between medics and surgeons to plan surgery cases and joint management of the patients, as well as meetings with histopathologists for diagnostic information. I can't fault the Irish system on any of this, except maybe to suggest the radiology meetings would go a hell of a lot more smoothly if everyone GOT PACS! Irish consultants by and large, are really and truly world class, and when they meet up and discuss and present things, a junior learns so so much. It's a pity they are scapegoated so often for the error prone systems they have to work in. I hope that the proposed introduction of Clinical Directors will go some way towards improving things-not everything Mary Harney suggests is wrong after all! Despite the Herculean efforts of the frontline staff in Ireland, the system's inherent faults and chinks and cracks are becoming more and more evident as demand and populations increase. The level of service that they provide is not sustainable anymore with the current systems that are in place. Despite everyone's deeply ingrained notions, deep rooted traditions and ways, and fear of change, something has to give. A child was harmed because of error prone systems that are central to the way in which hospital care is delivered in Ireland. It is a wonder more have not been. I sincerely hope these recommended changes are implemented. I will watch this space with interest. |
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ATT&T's new AIO Prepaid service is now live, with the ability to bring your own device.
Comparison vs GoPhone:
Unlimited talk and text, 2GB data, 4G/LTE @ 8 mb ps(throttled after cap, but still active.)
Unlimited talk and text, 2GB data 4G/LTE (hard cap.)
I might take the plunge and try this with my Lumia 822.
Aio WirelessLast edited by JKing106; 09-06-2013 at 04:04 PM. Reason: clarification
What carrier are you using now?
Please let us know how AIO is if you try it. - 09-06-2013, 07:19 PM #3
Hey Laura. I've been on AIO for about 2 weeks now and it's great. I bought the 620 and I like it so much that I sold my 900. The speeds are good for Miami compared to Straight Talk with the AT&T sim. The 900 nearly always showed LTE even though it's capped at 8mb but I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and my iPhone 5 on postpaid AT&T. The fact the 620 has IE10 vs. the IE9 in the 900 may explain why it feels actually quicker to load pages. I had some issues the first day because the port wasn't handled very well and the CS was great. A real life, English-speaking person answered the phone within 2 minutes and stayed on the phone for a good 20 minutes without sounding like she wanted to drop me. Once more subscribers latch on the service may suffer a little, but it's great right now.
Thanked by: - 09-06-2013, 10:16 PM #4
I have an unlocked Lumia 620 that I use as a second phone. I'm currently trying it on T-Mobile, but the coverage in my area is horrible. Around my house, I either get Edge or "No Network Found". Needless to say, I'm done with T-Mobile. Now I'm debating whether to go with AT&T GoPhone or Aio Wireless. I also have a Lumia 520 ATT GoPhone (couldn't pass up the deal when Amazon had it for $88), but I haven't activated the sim yet. Just using it on WiFi. I believe the GoPhone sim would also work on my 620. I'm wondering if the Aio sim would work on the 520. I'm assuming the 520 is locked to AT&T. I've read comments in other online forums where people said their Aio sim worked on locked AT&T phones (even those still under contract), but I've also read comments that said the phone had to be unlocked for the Aio sim to work. So not sure which is true. Anybody know?
Since Aio and GoPhone both use the AT&T network, I assume coverage would be the same for both. My primary phone is a Lumia 920 on AT&T and the coverage here is very good and I get LTE. I know the 620 isn't LTE capable, but I assume I should get 4G HSPA+ here. Aio limits the data speed for 4G HSPA+ to 4 Mbps. Is that fast enough for most activities: email, web browsing, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
I read in a post on another online forum that if you bring your own phone, you can sign up for Aio's $40/mo. plan. On their web site it says that plan is for basic phones only. If it's true that you can sign up for the $40 plan on Aio if you bring your own phone, then I'm leaning toward Aio. GoPhone also offers a $40 plan, but it's capped at 200 MB, compared to Aio's 250 MB. And with Aio, they just throttle the speed down after 250 MB, vs. GoPhone which would cut off data access (granted they do have the option to buy another 100 MB for $5). I'm thinking 250 MB should be plenty for me, since my 620 is a backup phone (for those times when it's more convenient to carry a smaller phone than my 920). I've yet to use 400 MB/mo on my primary phone since I'm on Wi-Fi most of the time.
I must say I like the simplicity of Aio's web site vs. AT&T's site. It's easy to find the information I'm looking for. I also like that they have a phone app for checking your account and usage. Didn't see an app for GoPhone. I think the MyAT&T app only works for post-paid accounts. An app isn't a necessity, but it's definitely nice to have. Aio also has a WiFi locator app.
What are everyone's thoughts on Aio vs. GoPhone? Pros/Cons for each? - 09-08-2013, 12:11 AM #5
I ordered AIO. It says my sim card will be in Tuesday, I'll let you know how it is in Northern Virginia. (Bringing my 920 from ATT). I decided to take the ETF, the savings from AIO are worth it over the next year.
Originally Posted by EBynum Has your AT&T 920 been unlocked? If it's still locked to AT&T, I'd be curious to know if the Aio sim works in it, or if you do have to get it unlocked.
"I have the unlock code, but I have not had a sim to unlock it yet. I'll see if the sim requires me to put in the code."
This may help: I just got a NET10 SIM and was using it on a 520 I had gotten and testing the NET10 service(on the Cape here in Mass). I had previously gotten an unlock code and instructions from an ATT rep for my Lumia 920(month to month plan on ATT, bought the phone outright) and tried to use the NET SIM to unlock the phone as you are required to insert another SIM to complete the process. It didn't work. In fact, the 920 recognized the NET10 SIM just fine. I did a test text to confirm. They run on the same network, as does AIO, which I am going to get a 620 from, so I would imagine swapping any of the three SIMs into any of the phones you guys are talking about would work just fine. Additionally, my 520 was an unlocked international version.
And yes, coverage should be exactly the same for all three; ATT, NET10 and AIO.
-DocActual location: Inside the system itself.
Vaporwaremagpolydilithium- What Surface is actually made of. - 09-10-2013, 12:03 AM #9
Thanks for your comments, Doc! I'm curious to see if SuperShoe has the same experience when he gets his Aio sim.
Well, I bit the bullet and ordered an Aio sim for my unlocked Lumia 620. One of the questions I mentioned in my earlier post was whether people who BYOD can sign up for the $40/month plan. So the process to order the BYOD Aio sim started with a page where I had to enter my device (Nokia Lumia 620) and my phone IMEI number. Then on the next page, I had to choose the plan, and the $40/mo. plan showed up as an option. The short description under the plan said it was for basic and feature phones only, but I was still able to add the plan to my order. You would think that after typing in my device and IMEI number, the system would recognize it's a smartphone and disable the $40 plan option, but it didn't. I completed checkout with the $40 plan. We'll see what happens when I get the sim and activate the account. Fingers crossed that it will work. - 09-10-2013, 01:10 PM #10
I just got my sim card and it's working great. Changing over the service was as easy as going to the website and putting in two numbers (even cancelled my AT&T immediately). I am seeing the 8 Mbps and 4 Mbps caps (went up to 4.3 Mbps). It's working pretty well. I had to unlock my phone to test something for a friend the weekend, but I popped it in my locked ATT Lumia 900 and it didn't ask to unlock. It connected without any problems. Oh, and internet sharing works! Initially: I'm glad I switched, we'll see what happens this month.
Update: Internet sharing worked once and now it's not letting me. :-(Last edited by TheSuperShoe; 09-10-2013 at 02:13 PM.
No visual voicemail support for Windows Phone yet, but I talked to a rep and was told they will get it working 'as soon as possible'. If anyone wants me to check some feature I haven't mentioned, let me know. I have the $55/month plan.
I just got my AIO SIM today as well and ported from Tmo and so far the service has been night and day from my Tmo experience with an unlocked Rogers 920. At least in my house and at work Tmo service is not that good at all so switching to AIO has been almost a revelation. LTE, apps connecting and updating smoothly, internet connecting straight away and even contacting CS via their WP app worked smoothly. I did a speedtest from the same spot used when connected to Tmo just before I swapped SIM's and even though the numbers were not great they were still better than my Tmo results and in use data has felt instant.
As mentioned above, no visual voicemail and no tethering so will have to see if those become available later but overall I can say I'm pretty happy with AIO at the moment. -
Man, you really have to let that att hatred go. If you use the service as advertised, where is the problem? How exactly is anyone trapped by their policies?
I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. - 09-10-2013, 09:01 PM #14
I'm seeing how you and The SuperShoe are having tethering issues. I don't know if makes a difference but my L620 has been working since day 1 with no issues at all. I even slipped the SIM card into the unlocked L900 I had prior to buying the AIO L620 and it also worked. It would absolutely suck donkey **** if BYOD plans have the service disabled.
So what's the policy of other prepaid operators? Don't they do the same?
Edit: to be honest, this discussion is moot, there are several prepaid operators to choose from, so there's no need to go with this one if it doesn't meet a persons needs. This site has a good list of prepaid operators. http://www.allprepaidplans.com/.
On a separate note, using AIO at work is a marked improvement over Tmo, though I have come across a few dead spots of coverage while walking around my building but overall the positive impression still remains.Last edited by theefman; 09-11-2013 at 10:49 AM.
I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. - 09-11-2013, 01:29 PM #16
Correct me if I am wrong, but if I buy a carrier locked phone for full retail, it still won't work on other carriers, right? So what's the gripe here? All carriers have their own unlock policies, and they don't all unlock retail purchased phones immediately.
An update to my earlier post:
My Aio sim arrived, and I activated it and put it in my unlocked Lumia 620. Everything is working fine, and my account shows the $40/mo. plan I had signed up for. So apparently you can use the $40/mo. plan (which on their web site says is for basic and feature phones only) with a BYOD smartphone. Whether this is a goof on their end that they'll eventually catch remains to be seen. I couldn't find anything on their web site that said you can use the $40 plan with a BYOD smartphone, so I'm not sure if this is really allowed or not. I dare not ask them though. It's working for me, so I'll just keep my mouth shut. ;)
I took my 620 for a walk around my middle-of-nowhere neighborhood this afternoon, and my data connection speed showed either H or H+ depending on where I was. So much better than T-Mobile where I got only Edge or no data connection at all. I ran data speed tests at various spots along my walk and data speed ranged from 1.3 Mbps to 4.45 Mbps, assuming these tests are accurate. I tried opening several apps (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, WPCentral) and everything loaded quickly. No more "having trouble connecting to data" messages like I use to get on T-Mo. I'm happy with Aio so far. Hopefully, they'll add video voicemail to Windows Phone soon. - 09-13-2013, 09:26 AM #18
wow, I missed this thread. I switched from sprint (IPhone 4s) to AIO just last week for the Lumia 620. The trade in value of my iPhone covered the price of the phone. So far I am very happy with the coverage I have, so much better than sprint's. (To be fair, I am in Houston, TX, which is one of Aio's first markets to go live) I am on the $55 a month plan. (2GB 4G Data) And of course the phone is AMAZING.
back home to windows phone!!! Lumia 635 Cricket. Lumia 521 Brightspot Mobile - 09-18-2013, 11:04 PM #20
I switched to Aio from Red Pocket (as of today). I have a brand new AT&T Lumia 925 (which surprisingly required no unlocking because my Red Pocket SIM worked immediately and I bought it in store, off-contract). Anyway, I ran Network Speed Tests on both and Aio was capping at 4 MBps and Red Pocket maintained at least 8 MBps after multiple tests. I'm thinking I might stay with Red Pocket anyway after wasting the money it cost for Aio's SIM and required plan before activation (nothing wrong with Red Pocket per se, especially with included international MMS and calling--no voicemail but I have been using MagikMail/YouMail). I live in one of AT&T's latest LTE markets, so speed should be "blazing" regardless...
I just switched to AIO from Straight Talk. What made me switch? I called to get my data usage. First rep couldn't see anything and had to transfer me. The second rep had no information (Trac-Fone???) and transferred me again. Third rep stated they can't see that information at all. I lost my mind. Pissed me off to no end. Plus, no LTE. So, I'm on AIO and for the first time, the LTE icon popped up!!! And my speed test in the store was 14 MBps. Yeah, that's pretty sweet. Plus, they have an app for Windows Phone. Nice touch. I'm on the $55 plan and that's after taxes. just a few dollars upgrade from ST. Not gonna complain about that for better service. I think I'll like this better than ST. Now, to switch over the fiance.
I bit the bullet last night and ordered AIO SIM cards for my wife and I to use our 920s on the $40 plan. We're both on WiFi so much that it made sense and will cut our bill in half.
Trip the daily meter over 100 megs and you'll see just how "unlimited" that data can be. Comcast was out one day and I had to d/l a large file so I tethered with a Pre3 I had at the time. Bam! I was enjoying EDGE speeds the rest of the month. Not because I tethered since the freeTether app disguises the NAI, but because of "excessive bandwidth usage" that was "affecting the system and causing inconvenience for our other subscribers". Can you say bananas? Bananas.
Last edited by eric12341; 09-24-2013 at 09:26 PM. Reason: No bypassing the curse filter
I have no doubt that your experience with Straight Talk is 100% accurate.
When reading other mobile forums, I still see a lot of issues posted about Straight Talk throttling and account cancelling. Now are all these reports bogus? I am sure some are, but there are just too many of them to all be bogus, like this: Straight Talk Users Sue Walmart And TracFone Over Throttling Of Unlimited Data Plans . Here's my opinion, and I may be wrong, I think throttling is a regional issue. I think if you are in an area where there is high data usage, they monitor data usage closer. If you live in an area where there is low data usage, they could care less if you use 2GB, 5GB or 10GB. Just my opinion.Last edited by palandri; 09-25-2013 at 10:54 AM. Reason: added
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