SERVING AMERICA’S 

ELECTION OFFICIALS 

AND VOTERS 

2019 EAC ANNUAL REPORT 

U.S. ELECTION 

ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents 

Executive Summary 3 

Chairwoman’s Message 10 

Meet the Commissioners 12 

Distributing and Administering HAVA Funds 17 

Advancing VVSG 2.0, Voting System Testing and Certification 24 

Leveraging Election Research and Data, Conducting the 2018 EAVS 28 

Serving Election Officials and Voters 34 

Operations and Finance 47 

Executive Director’s Note 52 

Advisory Committees 54 

FY2019 Votes of the Commission 66 
Executive Summary 

Pursuant to Section 207 of the Help America 

Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), this report 

documents the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission’s (EAC) activities during 2019 

and serves as the agency’s Annual Report to 

Congress. Among other required information, 

the report provides a detailed description 

of activities conducted with respect to each 

program carried out under HAVA, including 

information on HAVA grants and payments, 

and information on the Voluntary Voting 

System Guidelines (VVSG). 

The EAC advanced its mission in 2019 by 

supporting the effective administration of 

HAVA funds, preparing for the distribution 

of newly appropriated 2020 HAVA funds, 

testing and certifying voting systems, 

advancing the modernization of the 

VVSG, implementing the 2018 Election 

Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) 

and releasing the 2018 EAVS report, and 

implementing other activities to help secure 

U.S. election infrastructure and support 

election officials and voters as they prepare 

for the 2020 elections and beyond. Key 

activities and developments in 2019 

are detailed below. 
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Our Mission: 

Helping America

Vote 

In November 2017, the EAC adopted the 

following mission and vision statements 

for the agency. 

Mission Statement: The U.S. Election 

Assistance Commission helps election 

officials improve the administration 

of elections and helps Americans 

participate in the voting process. 

Vision Statement: A trusted, 

proactive, and responsive federal agency 

that helps election officials administer 

and voters participate in elections. 

2018 HAVA Funds: 

Spending through FY2019 

States reported spending roughly 24 

percent of the 2018 HAVA funds through 

September 2019. The EAC projects that 

75 percent of the funds will be expended 

by the November 2020 elections. By 

category, states reported spending these 

funds on:

 cybersecurity - 53.2 percent

 voting equipment 28.0 percent

 voter registration systems 10.8 percent

 post election auditing - 0.8 percent

 communications 0.5 percent 

 other 6.7 percent * 

Distributing and Administering 

HAVA Funds 

• The EAC supported the effective

administration of the $380 million in 

2018 HAVA funds throughout 2019. States 

reported using these funds in FY2019 

to replace voting equipment, secure and 

modernize voter registration databases, 

conduct cybersecurity vulnerability 

assessments, implement cybersecurity best 

practices, and pilot and conduct post-election 

audits, among others uses. 

• On December 20, 2019, President Donald 

J. Trump signed into law the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2020, which includes 

$425 million in new HAVA funds that 

will be distributed to state election offices 

by the EAC. Building on the EAC’s rapid 

disbursement of 2018 HAVA funds in 2018, 

in late 2019 the EAC began preparations to 

distribute the 2020 HAVA funds to states as 

expeditiously as possible in early 2020. 

• In April 2019, the EAC released a report on 

the impact of HAVA funding on the 2018 

elections. The report, The Impact of HAVA 

Funding on the 2018 Elections: A Summary 

of State Investments Made to Improve 

the Administration of Elections and Help 

Americans Vote, summarized the states’ 

plans for how the funds would be used and 

highlighted state-level case studies. 

• Throughout 2019, the EAC concluded HAVA 

funds “close-out” processes with 46 states 

regarding their previously awarded HAVA 

Section 101 and/or 251 funds. Closing out 

previously expended funds eases the recordkeeping burden on states, shortening the 

period during which they are required to 

maintain grant files.

• In November 2019, the EAC’s Office of the 

Inspector General launched audits of six states 

(Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, 

New Mexico, and West Virginia) regarding 

their use of the 2018 HAVA funds. The EAC 

has offered technical assistance to the states 

for resolution of audit findings following the 

audits, which will continue into 2020. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

The Election 

Infrastructure 

Subsector 

Government 

Coordinating Council • 

Following the Department of Homeland 

Security’s (DHS) designation of election 

infrastructure as critical infrastructure in 

January 2017, the EAC played a key role 

in helping establish the the Government 

Coordinating Council (GCC) for the 

elections subsector. The GCC enables 

local, state, and federal governments to 

share information and collaborate on best 

practices to mitigate and counter threats 

to election infrastructure. As outlined 

in the GCC’s October 2017 charter, the 

EAC Chair serves on the GCC’s executive 

committee, the Vice Chair serves as a 

voting member, and the remaining two 

commissioners serve as ex officio, nonvoting members. In addition, six voting 

members of the GCC are drawn from the 

EAC’s three advisory boards. 

Chairwoman McCormick at the public hearing on 

VVSG 2.0 in Salt Lake City, Utah 

Advancing VVSG 2.0, Voting 

System Testing and Certification

• The EAC completed testing and certification 

of ten voting systems from five vendors in 

2019. Test campaigns for three additional 

voting systems from two vendors were 

ongoing at the end of 2019. 

The EAC took a number of steps in 2019 to 

advance the next generation of voluntary 

voting system guidelines, known as VVSG 

2.0, a process that began in earnest 

following the reestablishment of a quorum 

of EAC commissioners in December 2014 

and the adoption of VVSG 1.1 in March 2015. 

These steps included: 

» soliciting public comments on the 

proposed VVSG 2.0 Principles and 

Guidelines for a 90-day period from 

February 28 to May 29, 2019 (later 

extended to June 7); 

» hosting three public hearings on the 

record, including hearings in Memphis, 

Tennessee and Salt Lake City, Utah in 

April 2019, and one in Silver Spring, 

Maryland in May 2019; 

» facilitating the ongoing development of 

the VVSG 2.0 Technical Requirements 

by the Technical Guidelines Development 

Committee (TGDC), supported by the 

National Institute of Standards (NIST), 

at the seven meetings of the TGDC, 

including six conference calls from April 

to December 2019 and the committee’s 

annual meeting in Silver Spring, 

Maryland in September 2019; 

» facilitating discussion on VVSG 2.0 

Technical Requirements among the EAC 

Standards Board at its annual meeting in 

April 2019; and 

» facilitating discussion on VVSG 2.0 

Technical Requirements among the EAC 

Board of Advisors at its annual meeting 

in April 2019. 
• 

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• In August 2019, the EAC hosted a forum 

on election security and voting system 

certification in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The forum convened state election 

officials, voting system manufacturers,

and representatives from the DHS, NIST, 

and EAC-accredited voting system test 

laboratories to discuss identifying and 

addressing software vulnerabilities in 

voting systems and related topics. 

• In November 2019, the EAC issued a 

Notice of Clarification for software de 

minimis changes. The de minimis change 

process is used by the EAC to allow minor 

modifications to a certified voting system. 

The program was clarified to allow minor 

testing as well as new software versions and 

builds in addition to clarifying the types of 

changes the EAC might consider de minimis. 

2018 EAVS: Key Findings 

• nearly all states and territories saw increases 

in turnout from 2014 to 2018, ranging from 2 

to 28 percent; 

• 

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• 

the percentage of the electorate who voted 

early in-person increased from 2014 to 2018, 

rising from 11 to 17 percent; 

by-mail voting was used by roughly one in 

four voters in 2018; 

motor vehicle licensing agencies remained 

the most common source of voter registration 

applications in the two-year period prior 

to the 2018 midterms, receiving nearly 45 

percent of all applications in that period; 

online voter registration was the source of 

16 percent of voter registration applications 

in the two years prior to 2018, up from 9 

percent in the two year period prior to 2014; 

the usage of electronic poll books increased 

by 48 percent between 2014 and 2018; and 

816 jurisdictions in 14 states used paperless 

Direct Recording Electronic voting 

equipment in 2018. 

Leveraging Election Research 

and Data, Conducting the 

2018 EAVS 

• The EAC completed administration of the 

2018 Election Administration and Voting 

Survey (EAVS) in May 2019 and released 

the 2018 EAVS Comprehensive Report and 

dataset in June 2019. The report’s chapter 

on voter registration served as the agency’s 

mandated report to Congress on the impact 

of the National Voter Registration Act 

(NVRA). The survey’s section on military 

and overseas voters collects data that states 

are required to report to the EAC under the 

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act (UOCAVA). 

• The 2018 EAVS was accompanied by 

a state-level survey called the Election 

Administration Policy Survey (Policy 

Survey), which collects information on 

the legal and administrative framework 

for election administration and voting in 

each state to provide important contextual 

information for the jurisdiction-level data 

collected via the EAVS. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

• In June 2019, the EAC hosted an Election 

Data Summit on Capitol Hill in Washington, 

DC, coinciding with the release of the 

2018 EAVS report and its submission to 

Congress. Held in the Senate Committee on 

Rules and Administration hearing room, 

the all-day event convened state and local 

election officials, their federal partners, and 

other key election stakeholders to discuss 

EAVS findings and leveraging data-driven 

practices to improve election administration. 

• For the first time in the history of the survey, 

respondents to the 2018 EAVS had the 

option of completing the EAVS online, along 

with the traditional EAVS data collection 

template. Jurisdictions from 15 states choose 

the online option for the 2018 EAVS. As 

more and more respondents complete the 

survey online, the EAC plans to transition 

to a fully online survey experience in the 

coming years. 

• In September 2019, the EAC released 

individualized 2018 EAVS Data Briefs for 

each state and territory. The briefs are 

one-page snapshots of key EAVS and Policy 

Survey data points. 

• In December 2019, the EAC released the 

2018 EAVS Data Interactive, an online tool 

that allows visitors to explore, visualize, 

and compare election jurisdictions’ 

EAVS responses. 

• In October 2019, the EAC published the 

draft survey instruments for the 2020 EAVS 

and Policy Survey, and solicited feedback 

through a 60-day public comment period 

from October to December. Proposed 

changes to the instruments seek to collect 

greater and more detailed information about 

elections infrastructure, voter registration 

and list maintenance, election technology, 

and voting by mail, among other issues. The 

EAC expects to finalize the instruments 

in early 2020 following a second public 

comment period. 

Serving Election Officials

and Voters 

• Led by the EAC Chair on the GCC Executive 

Committee, the EAC actively participated 

in and supported the work of the GCC to 

share information and strengthen election 

infrastructure throughout 2019. 

• Engaging with state and local election 

officials, voters, and other election 

stakeholders, EAC commissioners traveled 

to 56 cities in 28 states, the District of 

Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2019. EAC 

staff conducted stakeholder engagement 

visits to 21 cities in 13 states and the District 

of Columbia. 

• Key stakeholder engagements included 

EAC staff providing “Election Official as 

Information Technology Manager” training 

to election officials in California, Nevada, 

and Ohio, as well as post-election auditing 

technical assistance to local election offices 

in Colorado, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. 

• In July 2019, the EAC adopted a resolution 

recognizing the fourth Tuesday of each 

September as National Voter Registration 

Day and committing to joining national 

efforts to support voter registration and 

participation in elections. The EAC engaged 

in promotional activities on its website 

and social media platforms to support 

voter registration in the weeks leading 

up to National Voter Registration Day on 

September 24, 2019. 

• Throughout 2019, the EAC processed 

requests from 11 states to update their 

state-specific instructions to the National

Mail Voter Registration Application Form, 

which the EAC makes available to the public 

on its website. 
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• In April 2019, the EAC released five 

new translations of National Mail Voter 

Registration Application Form, reflecting the 

five most populous language communities in 

the U.S., among those with limited English 

proficiency and for whom the form was not 

previously translated. In addition to English, 

the form is now available in Arabic, Bengali, 

Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, 

Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Portuguese, 

Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. 

• In April 2019, the EAC released an issue brief 

on language accessibility in elections. The 

brief aims to aggregate existing resources on 

the topic, help election officials understand

language assistance requirements under the 

Voting Rights Act, and share information on 

how election jurisdictions have approached 

serving voters with language needs. 

• From September to November 2019, the 

EAC sought submissions for its annual 

Clearinghouse Awards, known as the 

Clearies. There were 17 winners across the 4 

categories: improving accessibility for voters 

with disabilities; outstanding innovations 

in elections; best practices in recruiting, 

retaining, and training poll workers; and 

most creative and original “I Voted” stickers. 

Louisiana’s 2019 Clearie-winning “I Voted” sticker 

Operations and Finance 

• Along with many other federal 

government agencies, the EAC ceased 

most of its operations during the lapse in 

appropriations from December 22, 2018 

to January 25, 2019. While most agency 

activities were halted, the EAC was able to 

continue data collection for the 2018 EAVS 

during this time. 

• On January 2, 2019, the Senate confirmed

Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer as 

EAC commissioners. These confirmations

restored the Commission’s quorum, which 

had been absent since March 24, 2018. 

The confirmation marked the first time in

nearly a decade that the Commission had a 

full set of four commissioners. The two new 

commissioners were sworn in on 

February 4, 2019. 

• On February 15, 2019, President Trump 

signed into law the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2019, which provided 

the EAC with $9.2 million for FY2019, 

including a $1.25 million transfer to NIST. 

This reflected a $900,000 decrease from 

the agency’s FY2018 appropriation level of 

$10.1 million, which included a $1.5 million 

transfer to NIST. 

• On February 22, 2019, in accordance with 

HAVA Section 203(c), the Commission 

voted to appoint Commissioner Christy 

McCormick as EAC Chairwoman and 

Commissioner Benjamin Hovland as the 

Vice Chairman. During the preceding year, 

Commissioner Thomas Hicks had served as 

Chairman and Commissioner McCormick 

had served as Vice Chairwoman. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

• EAC commissioners testified before Congress

on five occasions in 2019, including:

» Commissioner Hicks, U.S. House 

Committee on Homeland Security, 

hearing on election security on 

February 13; 

» all commissioners, U.S. Senate 

Committee on Rules and Administration, 

EAC oversight hearing on May 15; 

» all commissioners, U.S. House 

Committee on House Administration, 

EAC oversight hearing on May 21; 

» Chairwoman McCormick, U.S. House 

Committee on Oversight and Reform, 

hearing on election security on 

May 22; and 

» Vice Chair Hovland, U.S. House 

Committee on the Judiciary, hearing on 

election security on October 22. 

• In September 2019, the Commission voted 

on whether to retain then Executive Director 

Brian Newby and General Counsel Cliff

Tatum, whose four-year terms were set 

to expire on October 22, 2019. The vote 

failed to receive the three votes necessary 

for retention. In accordance with the EAC’s 

succession plan, Chief Information and 

Security Officer Mona Harrington assumed

the role of Acting Executive Director on 

October 23, and the Commission immediately 

began recruitment efforts to identify a new

Executive Director and General Counsel. 

As outlined in HAVA Section 204(a)(3)(A), 

the EAC engaged the search committees of 

the Board of Advisors and Standards Board 

to recommend nominees for the position of 

Executive Director. 

• The EAC replaced legacy information 

technology systems and implemented a 

modern and secure information technology 

infrastructure in 2019. The modernization 

resulted in a more scalable, robust, secure, 

and efficient network for the agency.

• On December 20, 2019, President 

Trump signed into law the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2020, which provided 

the EAC with $15.171 million for FY2020, 

including a $1.5 million transfer to NIST and 

$2.4 million for relocation expenses. 

• With targeted appropriations secured 

in December 2019, the EAC resumed 

preparations to relocate its office in late 2019.

Vice Chair Hovland testifying before the U.S. 

Committee on House Administration 

Chairwoman McCormick views election technology 

with Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole in 

Dallas County, Texas 
CHAIRWOMAN’S MESSAGE 

For many voters 2019 was an off year and

voting was not on their minds, but as election

officials well know, there is no such thing as

an off year in election administration. The

work of running elections and making sure

those elections are secure is an ongoing task,

and we applaud the job officials do year in

and year out. In 2018, election officials helped

bolstered confidence in the election process

by managing threats and increasing security

of election systems. Those efforts continued

and evolved in 2019 with the busy presidential

election year on the horizon.

We at the EAC work to provide state and

local election officials with access to valuable

resources and to ensure these resources

are shaped by, and responsive to, election

officials’ needs. Just like election officials, EAC

commissioners and staff did not have an off

year, and we were working hard to provide

assistance and share information to support

preparations for 2020.
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

 

2019 was an eventful year for the EAC, bookended

by developments we believe will prove critical

to the success of the agency. At the beginning

of the year, on January 2, the Senate confirmed

Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer to serve

as EAC commissioners. Their appointment

resulted in the agency having a full slate of four

commissioners for the first time in nearly a

decade. Commissioners Hovland and Palmer have

added to the variety of backgrounds represented

by the commissioners and enabled us to make

decisions to improve the agency and better serve

America’s election officials and voters.

The year ended on another high note, as President

Trump and Congressional leaders reached a deal

to provide an additional $425 million in HAVA

funds for the EAC to distribute to the states.

Supplementing the $380 million in HAVA funds

distributed in 2018, this new infusion of funds will

enable election officials to expand their efforts to

strengthen U.S. elections infrastructure, protect

against cybersecurity threats, and bolster public

confidence in the election process. Signed into law

on December 20, the Consolidated Appropriations

Act of 2020 also included an increased funding

level for the EAC, which the agency will use to

advance our mission to serve election officials and

voters in 2020 and beyond.

Throughout the year, the agency implemented

core activities and convened election officials

and key stakeholders to discuss issues of

importance to the election community. In 2019 we

advanced our mission by supporting the effective

administration of HAVA funds, preparing for the

distribution of newly appropriated 2020 HAVA

funds, testing and certifying voting systems,

advancing the modernization of the VVSG,

conducting the 2018 EAVS, and implementing

other activities to help secure U.S. election

infrastructure and serve election officials and

voters. To facilitate discussion and information

sharing among election officials, federal partners,

and other key stakeholders, the EAC organized

multiple events in 2019, including an Election

Security Summit, three public hearings on VVSG

2.0, an Election Data Summit, and the annual

meetings of our three advisory boards.

2019 also represented a year of transition for

the EAC, as Executive Director Brian Newby

and General Counsel Cliff Tatum’s four-year

terms ended in October. On behalf of my

fellow commissioners, let me extend a note of

appreciation to Brian and Cliff for their years of

service to the agency and elections community.

With the expectation of high turnout, continued

focus on election security, and the guarantee of

unforeseen developments impacting the election

process, election officials will surely face critical

tests in 2020. But we know election officials are

up to the task -- and we at the EAC stand ready to

assist them. We are doing everything in our power

to make the new HAVA funds available to states

as quickly as possible in early 2020, and remain

committed to providing meaningful assistance to

the election officials and voters we serve.

— CHRISTY McCORMICK 

CHAIRWOMAN, 

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 
MEET THE COMMISSIONERS 

As outlined in Help America Vote Act 

(HAVA), the Commission is comprised of 

four members appointed by the President, 

by and with the advice and consent of the 

Senate. The Commission selects a chair 

and vice chair from among its members, 

representing different political parties, 

for a 1-year term. Commissioner Christy 

McCormick assumed the position of chair on 

February 24, 2019, replacing Commissioner 

Thomas Hicks who had served in that role 

during the preceding year. Commissioner 

Hovland assumed the position of vice chair 

on the same date, replacing Commission 

McCormick. Any action which the 

Commission is authorized to carry out under 

HAVA may be carried out only with the 

approval of at least three of its members. 

EAC Commissioners at the public hearing on VVSG 2.0 in Silver Spring, Maryland. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Christy McCormick 

CHAIRWOMAN 

Christy McCormick was nominated by President 

Barack H. Obama and confirmed by unanimous

consent of the United States Senate on December 

16, 2014 to serve on the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC). She is currently serving her 

second term as Chairwoman of the Commission. 

Prior to her appointment with the EAC, 

Commissioner McCormick served as a Senior 

Trial Attorney in the Voting Section of the 

Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of 

Justice (USDOJ), a position she held from 2006 

until joining the Commission. Ms. McCormick 

was detailed by the Deputy Attorney General 

to be Senior Attorney Advisor and Acting 

Deputy Rule of Law Coordinator in the Office 

of the Rule of Law Coordinator at the U.S. 

Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq from 2009 to 2010, 

where she worked as the U.S. elections expert 

overseeing the Iraq national elections (including 

an extensive election re-count), as well as on 

numerous U.S. and coalition Rule of Law efforts.

Prior to joining the USDOJ, Ms. McCormick 

served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable 

Elizabeth A. McClanahan in the Court of 

Appeals of Virginia from 2003 to 2006. Ms. 

McCormick was an Assistant Attorney General 

and Assistant to the Solicitor General in the 

Office of the Attorney General of Virginia from 

2001 to 2003. She was a member of the U.S. 

Supreme Court legal teams for Black v. Virginia 

(defending the Commonwealth’s criminal 

statute against cross-burning) and Hicks v. 

Virginia (defending a 1st amendment challenge 

to a state trespassing policy), as well as in cases 

on appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

She was a Judicial Law Clerk in Virginia’s 

Seventh Judicial Circuit Court from 1999 to 

2001. 

Ms. McCormick received her B.A. from the 

University of Buffalo, a J.D. with honors from 

the George Mason University School of Law 

(now Antonin Scalia Law School), and also 

attended the William & Mary School of Law. 
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Benjamin Hovland 

VICE CHAIR 

Benjamin Hovland was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by unanimous 

consent of the United States Senate on January 2, 2019 to serve as an EAC Commissioner. 

Commissioner Hovland serves as the Designated Federal Officer for the Technical Guidelines 

Development Committee (TGDC). 

Mr. Hovland’s 20-year career in elections has been shaped by his commitment to improving election 

administration and removing barriers to voting. Most recently, he served as Acting Chief Counsel 

for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, where he was a driving force behind 

Congress appropriating $380 million in Help America Vote Act funds to enhance election security 

to the states in 2018. While at the Senate, he focused on the federal government’s role in election 

administration and campaign finance regulation. He organized several hearings on election security 

preparations and improving election administration. He was integral to restoring a quorum at the 

EAC in 2015. Earlier in his career, as the Deputy General Counsel for the Missouri Secretary of 

State’s office, he focused on legal issues related to the administration of state and federal elections, 

including recounts, poll worker training, voter registration list maintenance, statewide database 

matching, voter education resources and ballot initiative litigation. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Donald Palmer 

COMMISSIONER 

Donald Palmer was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by unanimous consent

of the United States Senate on January 2, 2019 to serve as an EAC Commissioner. 

Commissioner Palmer is a former Bipartisan Policy Center Fellow where he advanced the 

recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. Mr. Palmer is a former 

Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections and served as the commonwealth’s Chief Election 

Official from 2011-2014. During his tenure, he implemented an online voter registration system and

joined Virginia as a founding member of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a 

non-profit organization with the sole mission of assisting states to improve the accuracy of America’s

voter rolls and increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens. He also served as Florida’s 

Director of Elections where he successfully transitioned the state from electronic voting machines to 

paper-based digital voting machines prior to the 2008 Presidential Election and expanded the Florida 

voting system state certification program. Prior to his work in election administration, he served as a

trial attorney with the Voting Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where 

he enforced the nation’s federal voting laws. Palmer is a military veteran, retiring from the U.S. Navy 

after two decades as an intelligence officer and judge advocate general.

Mr. Palmer earned his J.D. at the Stetson University College of Law and his master’s degree at George 

Washington University. 
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Thomas Hicks 

COMMISSIONER 

Thomas Hicks has served as EAC Chairman for two terms and as Vice Chairman for an additional 

two terms. During his time with the Commission, Mr. Hicks has focused his efforts on voting 

accessibility, including developing a guide to voters rights for voters with disabilities and creating a 

help desk to address ballot delivery issues for overseas voters. Prior to his appointment with EAC, 

Mr. Hicks served as a senior elections counsel and minority elections counsel on the US House 

of Representatives Committee on House Administration, a senior lobbyist and policy analyst for 

Common Cause, and as a special assistant and legislative assistant in the Office of Congressional 

Relations for the Office of Personnel Management during the Clinton administration.

Mr. Hicks received his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and 

his B.A. in Government from Clark University (Worcester, MA). He also studied at the University of 

London (London, England) and law at the University of Adelaide 

(Adelaide, Australia). 
Distributing and 

Administering HAVA Funds 

Since the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) was established, the 

agency has distributed and supported the 

effective administration of more than $3.68

billion in Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 

funds. The newly appropriated 2020 HAVA

funds will bring that total higher than $4

billion. In general, EAC-distributed HAVA 

funds have included Section 251 grants

used by states to meet HAVA requirements, 

Section 101 grants used to improve the

administration of elections for federal

office, and other discretionary grants,

such as the 2004-2010 HAVA College

Program to help college students serve as

poll workers and the 2008 Election Data

Collection Grant Program. 

2018 HAVA Election Security 

Grants 

The EAC supported the effective 

administration of the $380 million in 2018 

HAVA election security grants throughout 

2019. In their federal financial reports 

submitted in December 2019, states 

reported using these funds in FY2019 

to replace voting equipment, secure and 

modernize voter registration databases, 

conduct cybersecurity vulnerability 

assessments, implement cybersecurity 

best practices, and pilot and conduct postelection audits, among others uses. 
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“Nationally, secretaries of states are focused on protecting and securing the integrity 

of our elections. The 2018 HAVA funding appropriated by Congress has been 

helpful in this critical work. Certainly, the most recently appropriated [2020 HAVA 

election security grants] will further allow states to make important decisions in 

investments in our election infrastructure.” Jim Condos 

Vermont Secretary of State, EAC 2020 Elections Summit 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

The states have until March 2023 to fully 

expend their 2018 HAVA funds. Through 

September 2019, the states collectively reported 

spending roughly 24 percent of the $380 million 

distributed. Four states reported expending 

more than 90 percent of their 2018 HAVA 

funds, including Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana 

and West Virginia. The EAC projects that 75 

percent of the funds will be expended by the 

November 2020 elections. By category, states 

reported spending these funds on: cybersecurity 

(53.2 percent); voting equipment (28.0 percent); 

voter registration systems (10.8 percent); postelection auditing (0.8 percent); communications 

(.5 percent); and other (6.7 percent).

Commissioner Hicks at Fortinet Event in Washington, DC in December 2019 
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Use of 2018 HAVA Election Security Grants in 2019 

Illustrative examples of how states spent their 2018 election security grants in 2019 are below. 

To support the Pennsylvania Department of State’s directives that all new voting systems in 

the commonwealth must have a voter verifiable paper record and be in place by the April

2020 presidential primaries, Pennsylvania has committed to using all of its 2018 HAVA grant

funds to reimburse counties for the purchase of compliant voting systems. By August 2019, a

total of 51 counties had procured new voting systems. The remaining 16 counties planned to 

procure new voting systems prior to the end of 2019. By September 2019, Pennsylvania had 

distributed grant funds to 37 counties to reimburse the purchase of new voting system. 

In September 2019, New Jersey reported using grant funds to partner with the Department 

of Homeland Security (DHS) and organize an Election Security Tabletop Exercise (TTX). The 

TTX was an all-day scenario-based training exercise attended by more than 400 participants, 

including local election officials and IT staff from all 21 counties in New Jersey, local law

enforcement and emergency management officials, federal partners from the EAC, DHS, and

the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and election officials from 14 other states.

Wisconsin reported using grant funds in 2019 to complete implementation of multi-factor 

authentication for its statewide voter registration database and election management 

system. By September 2019, the Wisconsin Election Commission had completed full 

fielding of multi-factor authentication statewide to all users of this system in the states’ 72 

counties and 1,850 municipalities. 

Rhode Island reported using grant funds to continue efforts to modernize and secure 

its statewide voter registration database prior to the 2020 elections, replacing a legacy 

system that had been in place for 14 years. The new system enhances the security of voter 

registration data and streamlines election processes for the Department of State, Board of 

Elections, and Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns. 

Chairwoman McCormick and former Executive Director Brian Newby with West Virginia Secretary of State 

Mac Warner at New Jersey’s statewide table top exercise on election security in Princeton, New Jersey. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

In April 2019, the EAC released a report on 

the impact of HAVA funding on the 2018 

elections. The report, The Impact of HAVA 

Funding on the 2018 Elections: A Summary 

of State Investments Made to Improve 

the Administration of Elections and Help 

Americans Vote, summarized the states’ plans 

for how the funds would be used and highlighted 

state-level case studies.

In November 2019, the EAC’s Office of the 

Inspector General launched audits of six states 

regarding their use of the 2018 HAVA funds. 

The EAC has offered technical assistance to the 

states for resolution of audit findings following 

the audits, which will continue into 2020.

2020 HAVA Election 

Security Grants 

On December 20, 2019, President 

Trump signed into law the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 

2020, which includes $425 million in 

new HAVA election security grants 

that will be distributed to state 

election offices by the EAC. Building 

on the EAC’s rapid disbursement of 

2018 HAVA funds in 2018, in late 

2019 the EAC began preparations to 

distribute the 2020 HAVA funds to 

states as expeditiously as possible in 

early 2020.
22

“Election officials and their federal partners are 

working tirelessly to strengthen U.S. elections 

infrastructure, protect election systems from 

cybersecurity threats, and bolster public 

confidence in the election process. We at

the EAC are proud to support these efforts 

and are heartened by the passage of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, which 

includes $425 million in new HAVA funds 

for the states. The EAC is doing everything 

in its power to make this funding available 

to states as quickly as possible, just as we 

did with the $380 million in HAVA funds 

appropriated in 2018.” Christy McCormick

EAC Chairwoman 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Northern Mariana 

Islands 

The 2020 HAVA election security grants

represent the first time HAVA funds

will be awarded to the Commonwealth

of the Northern Mariana Islands. The

Northern Mariana Islands have held

federal elections since 2008, when the 

position of Delegate to the House of 

Representatives from the Commonwealth

of Northern Mariana Islands was created

by the Consolidated Natural Resources

Act of 2008. As HAVA was enacted in

2002, the Northern Mariana Islands were

not listed as a territory eligible to receive 

HAVA funds. This was remedied by the

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020.

Previously Awarded HAVA 

Funds (Section 101 and 251) 

The EAC continued to support states’ 

expenditure of previously awarded HAVA 

Section 101 and 251 grants in 2019. By 

September 2019, 17 states had expended 100 

percent of these funds, 26 states had expended 

more than 90 percent, and 5 states had 

expended more than 80 percent. The remaining 

8 states had expended between 52 and 74 

percent of these funds.

Throughout 2019, the EAC concluded HAVA 

funds “close-out” processes with 46 states 

regarding their previously awarded HAVA 

Section 101 and/or 251 funds. Closing out 

previously expended funds eases the recordkeeping burden on states, shortening the period 

during which they are required to maintain 

grant files.

“We are very grateful 

to Congress for the 

first $5.8 million that 

we received two years 

ago, and now the $6.6 

million [in 2020 HAVA 

funds]. All of those 

dollars are dedicated 

to upgrading our 

election infrastructure 

and bringing in new 

voting machines for 

our state. ” Kyle Ardoin

Louisiana Secretary 

of State, EAC 2020 

Elections Summit 
Advancing VVSG 2.0, 

Voting System Testing and 

Certifcation 

As outlined in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), core functions of the EAC include 

adopting and modifying the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), testing and 

certifying voting systems against these voluntary guidelines, and accrediting Voting System 

Test Laboratories (VSTLs). The EAC adopted the first iteration of the VVSG, 1.0, in 2005, 

adopted VVSG 1.1 in 2015, and is currently advancing the next generation of guidelines 

known as VVSG 2.0. At present, there are 62 EAC-certified voting system configurations 

from 7 manufacturers. The EAC currently works with two accredited VSTLs. 

Ongoing Voting System Testing and Certification

The EAC completed testing and certification of ten voting systems from five manufacturers 

in 2019. Test campaigns for three additional voting systems from two manufacturers were 

ongoing at the end of 2019.
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

2019 CERTIFIED VOTING SYSTEMS 

MANUFACTURER VOTING SYSTEM DATE CERTIFIED 

Clear Ballot Group ClearVote 1.5 03-19-2019

Clear Ballot Group ClearVote 2.0 10-21-2019

Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite 5.5A 01-30-2019

Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite 5.5B 09-10-2019

Election Systems & Software 6.0.4.0 05-03-2019

Election Systems & Software 6.1.0.0 09-24-2019

Unisyn Voting Solutions OpenElect 2.1 05-05-2019

Hart InterCivic Verity Voting 2.3 03-15-2019

Hart InterCivic Verity Voting 2.3.3 05-03-2019

Hart InterCivic Verity Voting 2.3.4 05-29-2019

2019 VOTING SYSTEMS UNDER TESTING 

MANUFACTURER VOTING SYSTEM DATE CERTIFIED 

MicroVote General Corp MicroVote EMS 4.3-A 09-19-2019

MicroVote General Corp MicroVote EMS 4.4 11-14-2019

Hart InterCivic Verity Voting 2.4 08-15-2019

Public hearing on VVSG 2.0 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

In November 2019, the EAC issued a Notice of 

Clarification for software de minimis changes. 

The de minimis change process is used by 

the EAC to allow minor modifications to a 

certified voting system. In the past, this had 

been applied primarily to hardware changes as 

software changes often required a new version 

and build. The EAC determined that allowing 

software de minimis changes was necessary to 

confront a rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat 

environment as well as allowing manufacturers 

to quickly respond to changing jurisdictional 

requirements, where those requirements can 

be addressed with minor changes. The program 

was clarified to allow minor testing as well as 

new software versions and builds in addition to 

clarifying the types of changes the EAC might 

consider de minimis. 
26

Advancing VVSG 2.0

HAVA mandates that the EAC develop the 

VVSG together with the National Institute for 

Standards and Technology (NIST) and the EAC’s 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

(TGDC), an EAC advisory board comprised 

of election officials, technical experts, and 

accessibility specialists. 

Following the restoration of a quorum of EAC 

commissioners in December 2014 and the 

adoption of VVSG 1.1 in March 2015, the EAC 

initiated a multi-year process to develop the 

next generation of voting system guidelines 

known as VVSG 2.0. The new guidelines under 

development seek to enhance the security and 

accessibility of voting systems, strengthen 

interoperability among system components, 

encourage innovation in the voting system 

marketplace, and ultimately create a more 

nimble set of standards that are responsive to 

the evolving needs of the elections community. 

The EAC took a number of steps in 2019

to advance VVSG 2.0. First, as required by

HAVA Section 222(a), the EAC solicited

public comments on the proposed VVSG 2.0

Principles and Guidelines. The 90-day public

comment period began on February 28.

Originally envisioned to close on May 29, the

deadline was extended to June 7 to ensure the

public had sufficient time to submit comments

following complications with the agency’s

public comment solicitation process. 

HAVA Section 222(a) also requires that the EAC 

provide an opportunity for a public hearing on 

the record. The EAC held three public hearings 

on the VVSG 2.0 Principles and Guidelines, 

including hearings in Memphis, Tennessee 

and Salt Lake City, Utah in April 2019, and 

one in Silver Spring, Maryland in May 2019. 

Testimony was provided at the three hearings 

by staff from the EAC and NIST, state and local 

election officials, voting system manufacturers, 

representatives of the EAC Standards Board and 

Board of Advisors, and others members of the 

elections community. 

“While the Voluntary Voting Systems 

Guidelines are just that, voluntary, we 

know that the majority of the states 

rely on our guidelines or our Testing 

and Certification program in some 

measure to assure that America is 

voting on systems that are reliable, 

secure, and accessible. It is important 

that we have a federal standard as 

a foundation for the operation of 

our voting systems in our country. 

It’s also important that we hear from 

the public [and] stakeholders in the 

election community. [...] We need to 

do our best to get this right, and we’ll 

strive to do so with your help.” Christy McCormick

EAC Chairwoman, VVSG 2.0 Public 

Hearing, Memphis, Tennessee, 

Vice Chair Hovland with former Director of Testing 

and Certification Brian Hancock as he retires from 

the EAC 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

The EAC also continued facilitating the 

development of the VVSG 2.0 Technical 

Requirements by the TGDC, supported by 

NIST. This included seven meetings of the 

TGDC, including six conference calls from 

April to December 2019 and the committee’s 

annual meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland 

in September 2019. Parallel to these efforts, 

the EAC also facilitated discussion on VVSG 

2.0 Technical Requirements among the EAC 

Standards Board and Board of Advisors at their 

annual meetings in April 2019. The TGDC’s 

work to finalize its recommendations for the 

VVSG 2.0 Technical Requirements will continue 

into 2020.

TGDC annual meeting in Silver Spring, MD 

“It’s not lost on anyone in this room, I’m sure, that a paradigm shift occurred in 

election security in 2016 when widely reported attempts were made to disrupt 

elections in the United States. In addition, there’s been a great deal of attention on 

issues related to ballot integrity, secure voting systems, and vulnerabilities as they 

exist in today’s election landscape. [...] Having the flexibility in the system to adapt to 

the ever-changing threat landscape is more important than ever. This is not the only 

example but a clear example of why new standards are needed.” Neal Kelley

Registrar of Voters , Orange County, California, TGDC member, VVSG 2.0 Public 

Hearing, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 23, 2019 

Election Security Forum

In August 2019, the EAC hosted a forum on

election security and voting system certification

in Silver Spring, Maryland. The forum 

convened state election officials, voting system

manufacturers, and representatives from the 

Department of Homeland Security, NIST, and 

EAC-accredited VSTLs to discuss identifying

and addressing software vulnerabilities 

in voting systems and related topics. An 

important issue arose during the discussion 

regarding the ability for voting system 

manufacturers to quickly update or patch their 

systems in the EAC’s Testing and certification

program. This feedback informed the EAC’s

decision to issue the Notice of Clarification

mentioned above. 
 

LEVERAGING ELECTION 

RESEARCH AND DATA, 

CONDUCTING THE 2018 EAVS 

As mandated by the Help America 

Vote Act (HAVA), the U.S. Election 

Assistance Commission (EAC) serves as 

a national clearinghouse and resource 

for the compilation of information and 

review of procedures with respect to the 

administration of federal elections. In 

service of this clearinghouse function, 

HAVA requires the EAC to conduct studies 

to promote the effective administration of 

federal elections. 

“When election officials go before 

their state legislatures or local 

budget authorities to push for 

additional resources or inform 

discussions on proposed election

policy changes, we want them 

to be armed with the best data 

possible about how elections are 

administered across the country.” Christy McCormick

EAC Chairwoman, 2019 EAC 

Election Data Summit 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Conducted every two years following each 

federal general election since 2004, the 

Election Administration and Voting Survey 

(EAVS) is the agency’s flagship research

initiative. The biennial EAVS collects 

nationwide data on election administration 

from nearly 6,500 local election jurisdictions 

across all 50 states, the District of Columbia 

and U.S. territories. The EAVS collects stateby-state, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction data 

on a wide variety of election administration 

topics, including voter registration, military 

and overseas voting, domestic civilian by-mail 

voting, polling operations, provisional ballots, 

voter participation, and election technology. 

The EAC partners with the Federal Voting 

Assistance Program (FVAP) data on military 

and overseas voters through the EAVS. 

The EAVS is accompanied by a state-level 

survey that collects information on the legal 

and administrative framework for election 

administration and voting in each state to 

provide important contextual information 

for the jurisdiction-level data collected via 

the EAVS. Recast in 2018 as the Election 

Administration Policy Survey (Policy Survey), 

this survey was previously known as the 

Statutory Overview from 2008 to 2016. 

The data collected through the EAVS provides 

a detailed snapshot of how general elections 

are administered in the U.S. every two years, 

and countless election stakeholders utilize the 

data. Members of Congress, legislative staff, and 

federal officials consume EAVS data to assess 

the impact of federal election laws. Journalists, 

academics, advocates, and others also regularly 

use EAVS data to better understand and inform 

the public about key aspects of elections. EAVS 

data is also used by election officials themselves, 

informing their data-driven practices and 

helping with comparative analysis among other 

election jurisdictions. 

In today’s environment of heightened concerns 

regarding cybersecurity in elections, there are a 

number of new consumers of EAVS data as well. 

This includes intelligence analysts, members 

of the national security community, and other 

stakeholders who are working to secure U.S. 

election infrastructure. 

Keith Ingram, Director of Elections, Texas presents on election security at the 2019 Election Data Summit 
30 

Commissioner Palmer at the Election Data Summit 

The 2018 EAVS and Policy 

Survey 

The EAC completed administration of the 2018 

EAVS in May 2019 and released the 2018 EAVS 

Comprehensive Report and dataset in June 

2019. The report’s chapter on voter registration 

served as the agency’s mandated report to 

Congress on the impact of the NVRA. The 

survey’s section on military and overseas voters 

collects data that states are required to report 

to the EAC under UOCAVA. 

Key findings from the 2018 EAVS included:

• nearly all states and territories saw increases 

in turnout from 2014 to 2018, ranging from 

2 to 28 percent; 

• the percentage of the electorate who voted 

early in-person increased from 2014 to 2018, 

rising from 11 to 17 percent; 

• by-mail voting was used by roughly one in 

four voters in 2018; 

• motor vehicle licensing agencies remained 

the most common source of voter 

registration applications in the twoyear period prior to the 2018 midterms, 

receiving nearly 45 percent of all 

applications in that period; 

• online voter registration was the source of 

16 percent of voter registration applications 

in the two years prior to 2018, up from 9 

percent in the two year period prior to 2014; 

• the usage of electronic poll books increased 

by 48 percent between 2014 and 2018; and 

• 816 jurisdictions in 14 states used paperless 

Direct Recording Electronic voting 

equipment in 2018. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

EAC initiatives to improve the EAVS have 

focused on three interrelated goals: to reduce 

response burden; to strengthen data quality 

and completeness; and to make the data more 

accessible and useful, particularly for election 

officials. For the first time in the history of the 

survey, respondents to the 2018 EAVS had 

the option of completing the EAVS online, 

along with the traditional EAVS data collection 

template. Jurisdictions from 15 states choose the 

online option for the 2018 EAVS. As more and 

more respondents complete the survey online, 

the EAC plans to transition to a fully online 

survey experience in the coming years. 

As part of the agency’s efforts to make EAVS 

data more accessible and useful, the EAC 

released individualized 2018 EAVS Data Briefs 

for each state and territory in September 2019. 

The briefs are one-page snapshots of key EAVS 

and Policy Survey data points. Complementing 

these efforts, in December 2019 the EAC 

released the 2018 EAVS Data Interactive. The 

EAVS Data Interactive is an online tool that 

allows visitors to explore, visualize, and compare 

election jurisdictions’ EAVS responses. 
32 

Election Data Summit 

In June 2019, the EAC hosted an Election Data 

Summit on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, 

coinciding with the release of the 2018 EAVS 

Comprehensive Report and its submission 

to Congress. Held in the Senate Committee 

on Rules and Administration hearing room, 

the all-day event convened state and local 

election officials, their federal partners, and

other key election stakeholders to discuss 

EAVS findings and leveraging data-driven

practices to improve election administration. 

Summit panels focused on the 2018 elections, 

voter registration, election security, voter 

registration database modernization, and 

military and overseas voters. 

Charles Stewart III from the Massachusetts Institute 

of Technology gives keynote remarks at the Election 

Data Summit 

“The post 2000 election world 

has seen a transformation in the 

availability of administrative election 

data and its use to manage elections 

[...] The most visible manifestation 

of this transformation has been the 

EAVS [...] It just has to be said and 

reiterated that the EAVS is the most 

important data project in election 

administration in half a century 

[...] [The EAVS] is one of the three 

indispensable pillars of election 

administration research, both for 

academic work and policymaking.”

Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin 

Distinguished Professor of Political 

Science, Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology, 2019 EAC Election Data 

Summit 

EAC Director of Research Dr. Nichelle Williams 

speaks at the Election Data Summit 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

The 2020 EAVS and 

Policy Survey and 

Beyond 

In October 2019, the EAC 

published the draft survey 

instruments for the 2020 EAVS 

and Policy Survey, and solicited 

feedback through a 60-day public 

comment period from October 

to December. Proposed changes 

to the instruments seek to 

collect greater and more detailed 

information about elections 

infrastructure, voter registration 

and list maintenance, election 

technology, and voting by mail, 

among other issues. The EAC 

expects to finalize the instruments 

in early 2020 following a second 

public comment period. 

EAVS Section A 

Working Group 

In April 2019, the EAC created a working group to focus 

on improving Section A of the EAVS, the section of the 

survey that collects information on voter registration and 

list maintenance. The group is comprised of election 

officials with years of experience of running elections,

who have a deep understanding of the voter registration 

process and the related data it generates, and who know 

the EAVS well. Using the external expertise of election 

officials to come to a consensus on changes to Section A

should lead to better data going into the survey, better 

analysis on the back end, and a better user experience 

for those charged with completing the survey. The group 

draws on the experience of the Section B working group,

led by the Council of State Governments and FVAP, 

which focused on military and overseas voting data, and 

made specific recommendations for changes that were 

implemented in the 2016 EAVS. This process clarified 

certain questions, eliminated duplicate or unnecessary 

questions, and simplified the survey for respondents. The 

Section A Working Group met for the first time in April 

2019 in Memphis, Tennessee on the sidelines of the EAC 

Standards Board annual meeting.

EAC Senior Advisor David Kuennen presents at the 

Election Data Summit 

Fors Marsh Group Researcher Lindsay Nielson 

presents 2018 EAVS findings at the Election Data 

Summit 
SERVING ELECTION 

OFFICIALS AND VOTERS 

The U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) supported 

election officials and voters through 

many additional activities in 2019. 

This included coordination and 

information sharing on election 

security with election officials 

and federal partners, engaging 

with election stakeholders across 

the country, supporting voter 

registration, and developing and 

sharing resources on important 

election administration topics, such 

as election security, post-election 

audits, disaster preparedness and 

recovery, voting accessibility, and 

poll worker recruitment and training. Election officials need to have expertise in many areas, including 

“nuts and bolts” election administration issues like voter 

registration, voting by mail, polling place operations, and results 

management, as well as emerging issues such as cybersecurity and 

combatting disinformation.
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Election Infrastructure Subsector 

Government Coordinating 

Council 

Following the Department of Homeland 

Security’s (DHS) designation of election 

infrastructure as critical infrastructure in 

January 2017, the EAC played a key role in 

helping establish the Government Coordinating 

Council (GCC) for the elections subsector. 

The GCC enables local, state, and federal 

governments to share information and 

collaborate on best practices to mitigate and 

counter threats to election infrastructure. As 

outlined in the GCC’s October 2017 charter, 

the EAC Chair serves on the GCC’s executive 

committee, the Vice Chair serves as a voting 

member, and the remaining two commissioners 

serve as ex officio, non-voting members. In 

addition, six voting members of the GCC are 

drawn from the EAC’s three advisory boards.

Led by the EAC Chair on the GCC executive

committee, the EAC actively participated

in and supported the work of the GCC to

share information and strengthen election

infrastructure throughout 2019. As of December

2019, EAC-affiliated members of the GCC are

listed in the table below.

GCC MEMBERS FROM THE EAC AND EAC ADVISORY BOARDS 

CHRISTY McCORMICK EAC Chairwoman Member, Executive 

Committee Representative

BENJAMIN HOVLAND EAC Vice Chair Member

JUDD CHOATE 

Director, Division of Elections, Colorado; 

selected by EAC Technical Guidelines 

Development Committee

Member

NEAL KELLEY 

Registrar of Voters, Orange County, California; 

selected by EAC Technical Guidelines 

Development Committee

Member

SARAH BALL 

JOHNSON 

City Clerk, Colorado Springs, Colorado; selected 

by EAC Board of Advisors Member

LINDA LAMONE Administrator of Elections, Maryland State Board

of Elections; selected by EAC Board of Advisors Member

MARK GOINS Coordinator of Elections, Tennessee; selected by 

EAC Standards Board Member

VACANT Local government election official; selected by 

EAC Standards Board Member

DONALD PALMER EAC Commissioner Member (ex officio)

THOMAS HICKS EAC Commissioner Member (ex officio)
36 

Engaging the Elections 

Community 

When invited by state and local election offices, 

associations of election officials, and other 

organizations in the elections community, EAC 

commissioners and staff regularly engage with 

election stakeholders across the country. These 

engagements include giving presentations 

on EAC activities, providing trainings and 

technical assistance on select topics, observing 

electoral processes, and participating in training 

exercises and other events focused on election 

administration. Engaging with state and local 

election officials, voters, and other election 

stakeholders, EAC commissioners travelled to 

56 cities in 28 states, the District of Columbia, 

and Puerto Rico in 2019. 

Commissioner Palmer with Supervisor of Elections 

Peter Antonacci in Broward County, Florida
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Complementing the work of the commissioners, 

EAC staff conducted stakeholder engagement 

visits to 21 cities in 13 states and the District 

of Columbia. Key stakeholder engagements 

included EAC staff providing “Election Officials 

as Information Technology Managers” training 

to election officials in California, Nevada, and 

Ohio, as well as post-election auditing technical 

assistance to local election offices in Colorado, 

Ohio, and Pennsylvania. EAC technical 

assistance on post-election auditing leverages 

the agency’s in-house expertise on risk-limiting 

audits and EAC resources on the topic, including 

its 2018 white paper Risk-Limiting Audits: 

Practical Application.

EAC Director of Testing and Certification Jerome Lovato and Senior Election Technology Specialist Jessica 

Bowers observe a risk-limiting audit in Elbert County, Colorado
38

Election Security Video and 

Pamphlet 

In 2018, the EAC released a video and 

accompanying pamphlet to inform voters 

about how election administrators secure the 

elections process. The election security video 

and pamphlet examine the role registration, 

physical security, poll workers, and voting 

equipment play in ensuring safe, accurate, fair, 

and accessible elections. The resources discuss 

the security measures in place for mail ballots, 

election-night reporting, and voting technology 

overall, as well as ballot handling measures, 

post-election audits used to further validate 

results, and the planning most jurisdictions 

do to ensure election continuity in the face of 

unexpected events or natural disasters.

To support state efforts to engage with voters on 

election security, the EAC authorized its vendor 

to accommodate state requests to customize 

the election security video. Since the video was 

released in 2018, the EAC has worked with five 

states to customize the video to their statespecific processes, including Wisconsin in 2019.

Supporting Voter Registration 

In July 2019, the EAC adopted a resolution 

recognizing the fourth Tuesday of each 

September as National Voter Registration Day 

and committing to joining national efforts to 

support voter registration and participation 

in elections. The EAC engaged in promotional 

activities on its website and social media 

platforms to support voter registration in the 

weeks leading up to National Voter Registration 

Day on September 24, 2019.

As required by HAVA, the EAC maintains the

National Mail Voter Registration Application

Form, also known as the NVRA form, which

is made available to the public on the EAC

website. The NVRA form is used by millions of

people each election cycle, including through

prominent third-party online platforms that 

support voter registration. Throughout 2019,

the EAC processed requests from 11 states to

update their state-specific instructions to the

NVRA form.
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters



a

ł

 ̃° 

The NVRA form is also made available to 

voters on vote.gov, a federal government 

website administered by the General Services 

Administration (GSA). In December 2019, 

the EAC entered into a memorandum of 

understanding with GSA to deepen the agencies’ 

collaboration regarding the use of the NVRA 

form and information provided to the public on 

vote.gov.

Ensuring Accessibility in 

Elections 

In April 2019, the EAC released an issue brief 

on language accessibility in elections. The brief 

aggregates existing resources on the topic, helps 

election officials understand language assistance 

requirements under the Voting Rights Act, and 

shares information on how election jurisdictions 

have approached serving voters with limited 

English proficiency

In April 2019, the EAC released five new 

translations of National Mail Voter Registration 

Application Form, reflecting the five most 

populous language communities in the U.S., 

among those with limited English proficiency 

and for whom the form was not previously 

translated. In addition to English, the form 

is now available in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, 

French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Japanese, 

Korean, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, 

Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Vice Chair Hovland joins EAC Senior Advisor Pat

Leahy and his service dog Hogan at the National

Federation of the Blind’s event on ballot

marking systems
40

The EAC also continued its efforts in 2019 to

support accessibility in elections for voters with

disabilities. This included sharing thousands

of copies of the EAC’s disability voting rights

pamphlet, which uses plain language to spell

out federal voting rights for persons with

disabilities in large print and Braille.

EAC commissioners and staff also participated

at key stakeholder events focused on voting for

persons with disabilities, including a May 2019

convening of the National Federation of the

Blind on ballot marking systems and the July

2019 National Council on Independent Living

(NCIL) Conference.

Chairwoman McCormick speaks with a participant

at the National Council on Independent Living

annual conference

Supporting Disaster 

Preparedness and Recovery 

In April 2019, the EAC convened a group of 

election officials at the annual Standards Board 

meeting in Memphis, Tennessee to discuss 

issues related to disaster preparedness and 

recovery. The group consisted of officials with 

experience administering elections in the 

aftermath of catastrophic natural and manmade disasters, including those affected by the 

hurricanes Katrina, Maria, and Michael, the 

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and the 

Camp Fire, among other disasters. Following 

the convening, the EAC released a series of 

interviews filmed by the EAC while touring 

election offices in Puerto Rico and Bay County, 

Florida to learn about their disaster recovery 

efforts.

Bay County Supervisor of Elections

Mark Anderson and Okaloosa County

Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux in

the EAC’s Disaster Recovery and

Preparedness video series

Bay County, Florida in the EAC’s

Disaster Recovery and Preparedness

video series
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

2019 Clearinghouse Awards 

From September to November 2019, the EAC 

sought submissions for its fourth annual 

Clearinghouse Awards, known as the Clearies. 

There were 17 winners across the 4 Clearies 

categories: improving accessibility for voters 

with disabilities; outstanding innovations in 

elections; best practices in recruiting, retaining, 

and training poll workers; and most creative and 

original “I Voted” stickers.

Chairwoman McCormick and Commissioner Palmer visited the Supervisor of Elections office in Martin

County, Florida. Martin County won EAC Clearinghouse Awards in both 2018 and 2019.

2019 Clearinghouse Awards: Improving 

Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities 

Merced County Registrar of Voters Office, CA

Multilingual Virtual Poll Worker Program for Deaf Voters 

During the 2019 elections, Merced County utilized their new

Multilingual Virtual Poll Worker Program (MVP) to assist voters who

are deaf by providing a direct ipad-based connection to American

Sign Language interpreters. In an effort to make the voting process

accessible and inclusive to all county voters, a planning and research effort resulted in the

adoption of the new county-wide system. The convenience of using an app-based program on

user-friendly iPads made the integration of the new service seamless at polling places. The MVP

may also be used to provide interpreters for dozens of languages.
42

National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) 

Achieving Accessibility for Election Websites and Sample Ballots Toolkit 

Over the past two years, NCIL has worked to promote their toolkit for election officials and voters 

with disabilities. The “Achieving Accessibility for Election Websites and Sample Ballots” toolkit 

provides information for election workers and disability advocates on resources to improve the 

online accessibility of election offices and sample ballots. Through a clearly constructed web-based 

presentation, the comprehensive guide seeks to help individuals and organizations understand the 

importance of accessibility and ballot access. The toolkit’s five chapters work to empower advocates 

and election officials by discussing topics such as website access barriers, accessibility evaluation 

tools, and ways local disability advocates can work with election officials to improve accessibility on 

the frontline of democracy. 

Board of Elections, Washington DC

Overall Commitment to Assisting Voters with Disabilities Throughout the Voting Process 

The DC BOE works diligently to ensure the accessibility of the voting process for voters with 

disabilities. This award recognizes the BOE’s overall commitment to accessibility. The elections 

office has worked to implement new voting machines, an electronic absentee ballot marking system, 

polling place ADA surveys, and poll worker training, all focused on helping voters with access needs. 

Other accomplishments include eliminating barriers to voting such as inaccessible polling sites, 

curbside voting, and no excuse absentee voting. In 2018, an independent organization surveyed all 

DC polling places and found 98% offering outstanding physical access for voters with disabilities. 

2019 Clearinghouse Awards: Outstanding 

Innovations in Election Administration 

Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office, MI

The Line Tracking Project

The Line Tracking Project is the culmination of several years of 

extensive research studying voter wait times. The project features a new 

public website allowing voters to check wait times at their local polling place and access additional 

tools to facilitate the voting process. The website and tools were introduced in 2018 and improved 

upon during the 2019 elections. As home to the University of Michigan, many Ann Arbor polling 

places previously experienced long wait times. In partnership with the University, the project team 

continues to evaluate how line counts, website data, electronic poll book numbers, and ballots casts 

can be harnessed to improve the voter experience. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Coconino County Elections Office, AZ

Native American Elections Outreach Program

Started in the late 1970’s, Coconino County leads an extensive Native American Outreach Program. 

The program has emerged as a hub to coordinate the unique elections needs of communication, 

registration, and polling in tribal lands. Outreach activities include: the coordination of reservation 

polling places and vote centers, election worker recruitment and training, a customized handbook 

to assist Navajo poll workers, and other initiatives. All of these efforts have allowed the county to 

develop a successful outreach program that continues to evolve and improve.

Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, AZ

County-wide Roundtable Outreach Project

In 2019, the county conducted an extensive Roundtable Project engaging underrepresented and 

historically disenfranchised communities in the elections process. Through this initiative, the 

county collaborated with a community host to identify topics for discussion and foster community 

involvement in addressing elections issues. Each roundtable consisted of a presentation from 

the county and a guided discussion with attendees. The programs led to outstanding results in 

increasing voter engagement while allowing the county to receive direct feedback about communityspecific access needs. 

Salt Lake County Election Division, UT

“Innovating and Accountability” Initiative

Leading up to the 2019 elections, Salt Lake County focused on “Innovating and Accountability,” a 

comprehensive effort to improve election services through enhanced poll worker training and the 

use of new technologies. From open-source election Worker Directory management software, to a 

QR code voter outreach survey, to creative uses of GIS programs, the county produced several costeffective, sustainable, and innovative solutions that will benefit voters for years to come. Poll worker 

and voter feedback surveys documented the benefits of their efforts and will allow the county to 

evaluate future endeavors.

Office of the Secretary of State, WA

VoteWA Project

With planning commencing in 2014, the VoteWA Project sought to create a secure and modern 

Elections Management System and statewide voter registration database. The Secretary of State’s 

Office cultivated buy-in from the 39 county auditors across the state to achieve several goals. As a 

result, VoteWA was effectively used as the statewide voter registration and election management 

system in the 2019 August Primary and General Elections. The VoteWa project provides a secure 

environment for the state’s voter data and other elections information. It will also save taxpayer 

dollars, reduce data management time for local election officials, increase confidence in election 

security, and enable a number of process efficiencies. 
44

Yolo County Elections Office, CA

Harnessing Technology to Improve Polling Place Resources and Response Time, Strengthen

Voter Communications, and Increase Future Turnout

In 2018, the county harnessed GIS Systems and Mapping, along with a new poll worker app, to 

streamline election night reporting and improve voter participation. The Elections Office partnered 

with the county’s Information Technology division of the General Services Department to attain 

several innovative successes. The effort resulted in improved resource allocation, greater response 

time to polling places, strengthened communication of election results to citizens, and the likelihood 

of increasing future turnout through targeted outreach and education.

2019 Clearinghouse Awards: Best Practices in 

Recruiting, Retaining, and Training Poll Workers 

El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, CO

Election Judge Video Training Program 

The Clerk and Recorder’s Office collaborated with the county’s Public 

Information Office to create a video classroom training module 

consisting of twelve “chapters” illustrating each of the duties required 

of an election judge. The videos will be used to prepare potential applicants for the requirements of 

their position, thereby reducing turnover and helping the county maintain capable election workers.

Martin County Elections Office, FL

Work the Polls Program for Recruiting High School and College Students 

Recognizing that most poll workers were 65 years of age or older, Martin County developed a 

Work the Polls campaign to recruit high school and college students for poll worker positions. 

Interns created a video to be posted on the website while staff reached out through meetings and 

presentations on campuses throughout Martin County. This outreach let to a more representative 

demographic for poll workers while increasing community involvement in the elections process. 

Wake County Board of Elections, NC

Vote to Volunteer Program 

The elections office designed “buck slips” to recruit poll workers and increase interest in the election 

worker process. The slips were included in county-wide elections and tax revenue mailings already 

set in place. These advertisements led to a substantial increase in applications for election worker 

positions, allowing staff to streamline the recruitment process and focus on other needs. The 

increase has not only prepared for attrition in existing poll worker pools but has allowed the county 

to create a STAR Team of poll workers on stand-by for any needed last-minute substitutions. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

 

2019 Clearinghouse Awards: Most Creative and Original 

“I Voted” Stickers 

Clark County, Nevada

The colorful Clark County, Nevada, “I Voted”

sticker was designed to reflect civic pride and

encourage voting through a unique sticker that

incorporates iconic elements of Las Vegas in

a patriotic motif. Designed in the shape of the

famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, the sticker

portrays the Las Vegas Strip skyline in red, white,

and blue colors alongside the Statue of Liberty. In

use since 2016, it coordinates with the graphics

and materials used for the elections division’s

outreach slogan of “Don’t Lose Your Voice, Vote.”

Louisiana 

Louisiana is unique in many ways. From its 64 

parishes to its melting pot of cultures, the Bayou 

State is set apart from its counterparts. In 2018, 

Louisiana’s Secretary of State chose a local 

artist to create the art for the fall election cycle’s 

sticker. The result, “In Love with Louisiana,” 

features an artistic rendition of the state’s bird, 

the brown pelican, and the seal.
Alaska

In 2017, an elections official discovered a 

creative “I voted” sticker featuring a bear at a 

local store. Inspired, the elections office worked 

with an Alaskan artist to produce stickers for the 

2018 elections with various Alaskan animals. 

Stickers included the moose, walrus, raven, 

Dungeness crab, king crab, eagle, caribou, 

and beaver. The stickers were enthusiastically 

received: voters across the state picked their 

favorites and started social media campaigns 

around the initiative. The stickers were also 

produced in Alaska’s Native Language.

46

Washoe County, Nevada

In 2018, in conjunction with the introduction of 

new county-wide election machinery, Washoe 

County updated their “I Voted” sticker. The 

elections office wanted a new original sticker 

to go with the fresh look of the new voting 

machines and operations. The sticker features 

the Sierra mountains in the background and 

the city skyline to celebrate civic pride and the 

county’s picturesque landscape.

Douglas County, Nevada

In the fall of 2019, the County collaborated with 

the Nevada’s Office of the Secretary of State and 

a local artist to create an accessible braille “I 

voted” sticker for use in the 2020 elections. As 

noted in their competition submission, “we are 

very hopeful that this campaign will catch on. 

And with so many visually impaired and blind 

people across our country, it’s innovative design 

should help draw many people with or without 

disabilities to the polls.” Along with the stickers 

colorful artistry and rich local design, the “white 

dots” indicate the Braille and will be raised by a 

die impression at the printers. In Braille it says, 

“I Voted Today!”
OPERATIONS AND FINANCE 

Government Shutdown 

Along with many other federal government 

agencies, the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) ceased most of its 

operations during the lapse in appropriations 

from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019. 

While most agency activities were halted, the 

EAC was able to continue data collection for 

the 2018 EAVS during this time. 

EAC Quorum Reestablished 

On January 2, 2019, the Senate confirmed 

Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer as 

EAC commissioners. These confirmations 

restored the Commission’s quorum, which 

had been absent since March 24, 2018. 

The confirmation marked the first time in 

a decade that the Commission had a full 

set of four commissioners. The two new 

commissioners were sworn in on 

February 4, 2019. 

Commissioner Palmer and his wife at his 

swearing in ceremony 
48 

Chairperson and Vice Chair 

Appointments 

On February 22, 2019, in accordance with Help 

America Vote Act (HAVA) Section 203(c), the 

Commission voted to appoint Commissioner 

Christy McCormick as EAC Chairwoman 

and Commissioner Benjamin Hovland as the 

Vice Chairman. During the preceding year, 

Commissioner Thomas Hicks had served as 

Chairman and Commissioner McCormick had 

served as Vice Chairwoman. 

Vice Chair Hovland and his family at his swearing-in ceremony 

EAC Staff Leadership Transition 

On September 5, 2019, the Commission voted 

on whether to retain then Executive Director 

Brian Newby and General Counsel Cliff Tatum, 

whose four-year terms were set to expire on 

October 22, 2019. The vote failed to receive the 

three votes necessary for retention. 

In accordance with the EAC’s succession plan, 

Chief Information and Security Officer Mona 

Harrington assumed the role of Acting Executive 

Director on October 23, and the Commission 

immediately began recruitment efforts to 

identify candidates for Executive Director 

and General Counsel. As outlined in HAVA 

Section 204(a)(3)(A), the EAC engaged the 

search committees of the Board of Advisors and 

Standards Board to recommend nominees for 

the position of Executive Director. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

EAC STANDARDS BOARD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE 

ROB ROCK, CHAIR Director of Elections, Rhode Island 

DANA CORSON Director of Elections and Voter Services, Montana Secretary of State 

CARRI CRUM Auditor, Clay County, South Dakota

JOE P. GLORIA Registrar of Voters, Clark County, Nevada

MARK GOINS Coordinator of Elections, Tennessee 

BRAD KING Director, Election Division, Indiana 

JUSTIN ROEBUCK Clerk/Register of Deeds, Ottawa County, Michigan

MICHELLE TASSINARI Director/Legal Counsel, Elections Division, Massachusetts Secretary 

of the Commonwealth 

EAC BOARD OF ADVISORS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE 

DANIEL IVEY-SOTO, CHAIR State Senator, New Mexico 

SARAH BALL JOHNSON, 

VICE CHAIR City Clerk, Colorado Springs, Colorado

JIM CONDOS Vermont Secretary of State 

MARC GUTHRIE Public Member, U.S. Access Board 

RICKEY HATCH Clerk/Auditor, Weber County, Utah

LINDA LAMONE Administrator of Elections, Maryland State Board of Elections 

MICHAEL YAKI Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 
50 

EAC Appropriations 

On February 15, 2019, President Trump signed 

into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 

2019, which provided the EAC with $9.2 million 

for FY2019, including a $1.25 million transfer to 

NIST. This reflected a $900,000 decrease from 

the agency’s FY2018 appropriation level of $10.1 

million, which included a $1.5 million transfer 

to NIST. Excluding the NIST transfers, this 

reflected a $650,000 decrease in appropriations 

for EAC expenses from FY2018. 

On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed 

into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act 

of 2020, which provided the EAC with $15.171 

million for FY2020, including a $1.5 million 

transfer to NIST and $2.4 million for relocation 

expenses. Excluding the NIST transfers 

and appropriations slated for relocation, 

this reflected a $3.321 million increase in 

appropriations for EAC expenses from FY2019. 

With targeted appropriations secured in 

December 2019, the EAC resumed preparations 

to relocate its office from its current location in 

Silver Spring, Maryland. The agency previously 

relocated from Washington, DC to Silver Spring 

in 2013. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Congressional Testimony 

EAC commissioners testified before Congress on five occasions in 2019, including:

• Commissioner Hicks, U.S. House 

Committee on Homeland Security, hearing 

on election security on February 13; 

• all commissioners, U.S. Senate Committee 

on Rules and Administration, EAC 

oversight hearing on May 15; 

• all commissioners, U.S. House Committee 

on House Administration, EAC oversight 

hearing on May 21; 

• Chairwoman McCormick, U.S. House 

Committee on Oversight and Reform, 

hearing on election security on May 22; 

and 

• Vice Chair Hovland, U.S. House 

Committee on the Judiciary, hearing on 

election security on October 22. 

Commissioner Hicks testifying before the U.S. 

House Committee on Homeland Security 

Information Technology 

Modernization 

The EAC continued to implement its multiyear technology upgrade plan to secure and 

modernize its information technology systems 

in 2019. The EAC replaced its legacy WAN 

network architecture with a modernized SDWAN, or software-defined wide-area network, 

which provides the EAC with increased visibility 

into the network and improves the agency’s 

security posture. In accordance with Executive 

Order 13800 released in 2017, the EAC also 

implemented Cloud First Technology by 

migrating file services to a FedRAMP compliant 

secure Cloud. The agency further implemented 

numerous real-time threat protection tools 

with enhanced traffic visibility (hardware and 

software) to mitigate risk to the EAC network. 

These efforts have resulted in a more scalable, 

cost effective, robust, secure, and efficient 

network for the agency. Commissioner Palmer testifying before the U.S. 

Committee on House Administration 
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE 

As election officials and voters prepare for 

the 2020 elections and the EAC continues 

its staff leadership transition, I am humbled 

by the opportunity to serve as the agency’s 

Acting Executive Director, and fully aware 

of the heavy responsibilities placed on my 

shoulders. Having assumed this role on 

October 23, I want to use this opportunity 

to reflect on my first few months in the 

position, and briefly lay out my priorities 

during this period of transition.

First and foremost, I have prioritized 

supporting the commissioners to recruit 

and appoint an Executive Director and 

General Counsel. At the end of 2019, 

the commissioners were in receipt of 

all applications for the General Counsel 

position, and the HAVA-required process 

by which advisory board search committees 

recommend nominees for the Executive 

Director position was near completion.

Secondly, based on my belief that 

distributing HAVA funds is the most 

tangible and highest impact activity of the 

agency, I have prioritized preparing the 

agency for expeditious disbursement of new 

appropriations of HAVA funds. Preparations 

for this in the fall of 2019 are now paying 

dividends as the agency works to quickly 

distribute the newly appropriated $425 

million in 2020 HAVA election security 

grants.
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

In addition, I am committed to doing my part 

to advance VVSG 2.0 toward adoption. While 

final adoption of the voluntary guidelines is 

ultimately a matter for the Commission, EAC 

staff plays a critical role in facilitating the 

process by which NIST and the TGDC develop 

recommended guidelines. The Executive 

Director is also responsible for submitting 

proposed guidelines to the Standards Board, 

and Board of Advisors for review and further 

recommendations.

I am also working to ensure the agency 

maintains strong relationships and open lines 

of communication with our federal partners, 

Congress, and key stakeholder groups in the 

elections community. The EAC is small, but 

mighty. Yet this does not mean we can do 

this work alone. The pressures facing election 

officials in the post-2016 environment are 

immense, and we will only be able to meet this 

moment with strong partnerships and a real 

commitment to working together.

As the commissioners and staff navigate this 

transition and look to strengthen existing 

programs and launch new initiatives, 

recruitment of new staff and talent management 

are also high priorities for me. The level 

of appropriations provided to the EAC in 

December will help the agency retain high 

performing staff as well as deepen our bench by 

recruiting new talent who can help us advance 

our mission at this critical time.

As 2020 begins, the security of elections and 

the confidence in the voting process is on the 

minds of all our staff and the election officials 

we serve. As I manage the responsibilities of 

Acting Executive Director and Chief Information 

and Security Officer, I remain focused on these 

priorities so that the agency can continue 

making meaningful contributions to elections 

that are secure, accurate, and accessible to all 

eligible voters.

— MONA HARRINGTON 

EAC ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

AND CHIEF INFORMATION AND 

SECURITY OFFICER 
ADVISORY COMMITTEES 

As outlined in the Help America Vote 

Act (HAVA), the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) is advised by three 

federal advisory committees: the Technical 

Guidelines Development Committee 

(TGDC), the Standards Board, and the 

Board of Advisors. With technical support 

from the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST), the TGDC assists the 

EAC Executive Director in the development 

of the voluntary voting system guidelines. 

The Standards Board and the Board of 

Advisors each review the Voluntary Voting 

System Guidelines prior to adoption, as 

well as other voluntary guidance under 

HAVA Title III. Additionally, EAC studies 

and other activities to promote effective 

administration of federal elections must 

be carried out in consultation with the 

Standards Board and the Board of Advisors. 

Finally, the EAC Executive Director and staff

must consult with the Standards Board and 

Board of Advisors in preparing the program 

goals, long-term plans, mission statements, 

and related matters for the Commission. 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Chaired by the director of the NIST, the TGDC the Designated Federal Officer for the TGDC. 

is comprised of 14 other members appointed The EAC organized the TGDC’s annual meeting 

jointly by the EAC and the director of NIST. On from September 19 to 20, 2019 in Silver Spring, 

February 22, 2019, the Commission appointed Maryland. The TGDC was comprised of the 

EAC Vice Chair Benjamin Hovland to serve as following members at the end of 2019. 

LORI AUGINO National Association of State Election Directors 

JUDD CHOATE National Association of State Election Directors 

WALTER COPAN National Institute of Standards and Technology 

MCDERMOT COUTTS Technical Expert 

ROBERT GILES EAC Standards Board 

DIANE GOLDEN Technical Expert 

MARC GUTHRIE Access Board 

GEOFF HALE Technical Expert 

NEAL KELLEY EAC Board of Advisors 

LINDA LAMONE EAC Board of Advisors 

PAUL LUX EAC Standards Board 

SACHIN PAVITHRAN Access Board 

MARY SAUNDERS American National Standards Institute 

DAVID WAGNER Technical Expert 

Vice Chair Hovland with NIST Director and TGDC 

Chair Walter G. Copan 

EAC Director of Testing and Certification Jerome

Lovato presents at the TGDC annual meeting
56 

Standards Board 

The Standards Board is a 110-member board 

comprised of 55 state and local election officials 

selected by their respective chief state election 

official with a defined process to ensure input 

from the state’s assocation of local election 

officials. HAVA prohibits any two members 

representing the same state to be members 

of the same political party. The board selects 

nine members to serve as an executive board, 

of which not more than five are state election 

officials not more than five are local election 

officials and not more than five are members of 

the same political party. 

On February 22, 2019, the Commission 

appointed EAC Commissioner Donald Palmer 

to serve as the Designated Federal Officer for 

the Standards Board. The EAC organized the 

Standards Board’s annual meeting from April 

11 to 12, 2019 in Memphis, Tennessee. The 

Standards Board was comprised of the following 

members at the end of 2019. 

EAC Standards Board members

Former EAC Director of Communications and

Public Affairs Brenda Bowser Soder

Commissioner Palmer addresses Standards Board

members during training at the National Civil

Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

Former EAC General Counsel Cliff Tatum EAC Commissioners at the Standards Board

annual meeting

Former Standards Board Chair Greg Riddlemoser

addresses the Standards Board annual meeting

Standards Board Chair Brad King speaks with 

the EAC Commissioners at the Standards Board

annual meeting

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

ALABAMA 

The Honorable John H. Merrill 

Alabama Secretary of State 

James Tatum 

Probate Judge 

Bullock County, Alabama 

ALASKA 

Gail Fenumiai 

Director 

Alaska Division of Elections 

Carol Thompson 

Absentee and Petition Manager 

Alaska Division of Elections 

AMERICAN SAMOA 

Uiagalelei Lealofi

Commissioner of Elections 

American Samoa Election Office

Fiti Tavai 

Division Head 

IT/Data Systems & UOCAVA 

Division, American Samoa Election 

Office
58 

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

ARIZONA 

Janine Petty 

Assistant Director of Elections 

Services 

Office of the Arizona Secretary of 

State 

Reynaldo Valenzuela Jr. 

Assistant Director of Elections 

Maricopa County, Arizona 

ARKANSAS 

Leslie Bellamy 

Director of Elections 

Office of the Arkansas Secretary of 

State 

Melanie Clark 

County Clerk 

Jackson County, Arkansas 

CALIFORNIA 

Susan Lapsley 

Deputy Secretary of State, 

California 

Neal Kelley 

Registrar of Voters 

Orange County, California 

COLORADO 

Dwight K. Shellman III 

County Support Manager 

Colorado Department of State 

Elections Division 

Rene Loy 

Chief Deputy Clerk 

Delta County, Colorado 

CONNECTICUT 

Peggy Reeves 

Director of Elections 

Office of the Secretary of State of 

Connecticut 

Lisbeth Becker 

Registrar of Voters 

Town of Glastonbury, Connecticut 

DELAWARE 

Anthony Albence 

State Election Commissioner, 

Delaware 

Howard G. Sholl, Jr. 

Deputy Director 

Department of Elections for New 

Castle County, Delaware 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

Alice P. Miller, Esq. 

Executive Director 

District of Columbia Board of 

Elections 

Michael D. Gill, Esq. 

Board Member 

District of Columbia Board of 

Elections 

FLORIDA 

Maria Matthews 

Division Director 

Florida Division of Elections 

Paul Lux 

Supervisor of Elections 

Okaloosa County, Florida 

GEORGIA 

The Honorable Bradford 

Raffensperger

Georgia Secretary of State 

Nancy Boren 

Director of Elections and Voter 

Registration 

Columbus, Georgia 

GUAM 

Maria I.D. Pangelinan 

Executive Director 

Guam Election Commission 

Joseph P. Iseke 

Election Program Coordinator 

Guam Election Commission 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

HAWAII 

Kristen Uyeda 

Section Head, Ballot Operations 

Hawaii Office of Elections

Shirley Magarifuji 

Election Administrator 

County of Maui, Hawaii 

IDAHO 

Lisa Powers 

Idaho State Elections Director 

Patty Weeks 

County Clerk 

Nez Perce County, Idaho 

ILLINOIS 

Bernadette Matthews 

Assistant Executive Director 

Illinois State Board of Elections 

Lance Gough 

Executive Director 

Chicago Board of Election 

Commissioners 

INDIANA 

J. Bradley King 

Director 

Indiana Election Division 

Myla Eldridge 

Circuit Court Clerk 

Marion County, Indiana 

IOWA 

Christy Wilson 

Iowa Deputy Commissioner of 

Elections 

Dennis Parrott 

Auditor 

Jasper County, Iowa 

KANSAS Bryan A. Caskey 

Kansas Director of Elections 

Lori Augustine 

County Clerk 

Trego County, Kansas 

KENTUCKY 

Erica Galyon 

Kentucky Assistant Secretary of 

State 

Kenny Barger 

County Clerk 

Madison County, Kentucky 

LOUISIANA 

Allison Clarke 

Louisiana Deputy Secretary of State 

H. Lynn Jones 

Clerk of Court 

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana 

MAINE Julie L. Flynn 

Maine Deputy Secretary of State 

Katherine L. Jones 

Clerk 

Portland City, Maine 

MARYLAND 

Nikki Baines Charlson 

Deputy Administrator 

Maryland State Board of Elections 

Guy Mickley 

Election Director 

Howard County Board of Elections, 

Maryland 
60 

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Michelle K. Tassinari 

Director/Legal Counsel 

Massachusetts Office of Secretary 

of the Commonwealth, Election 

Division 

Andrew Dowd 

Town Clerk 

Northborough, Massachusetts 

MICHIGAN The Honorable Jocelyn Benson 

Michigan Secretary of State 

Justin Roebuck 

County Clerk/Register of Deeds 

Ottawa County, Michigan 

MINNESOTA 

David Maeda 

Director of Elections 

Office of the Minnesota Secretary 

of State 

Debby Erickson 

Administrative Services Director 

Crow Wing County, Minnesota 

MISSISSIPPI 

Hawley Robertson 

Senior Attorney 

Office of the Mississippi Secretary 

of State, Elections Division 

Baretta Mosley 

Circuit Clerk 

Lafayette County, Mississippi 

MISSOURI The Honorable Jay Ashcroft 

Missouri Secretary of State 

Batina Dodge 

County Clerk 

Scotland County, Missouri 

MONTANA 

Dana Corson 

Director of Elections and Voter 

Services 

Montana Secretary of State 

Rina Fontana Moore 

County Clerk and Recorder 

Cascade County, Montana 

NEBRASKA 

Heather Doxon 

Election Coordinator 

Nebraska Secretary of State 

David Shively 

Election Commissioner 

Lancaster County, Nebraska 

NEVADA 

Justus Wendland 

HAVA Administrator 

Nevada Secretary of State 

Joseph P. Gloria 

Registrar of Voters 

Clark County, Nevada 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Anthony Stevens 

New Hampshire Assistant 

Secretary of State 

Robert Dezmelyk 

Moderator 

Town of Newton, New Hampshire 

NEW JERSEY 

Robert Giles 

Director 

New Jersey Division of Elections 

Linda Von Nessi 

Clerk of Elections 

Essex County, New Jersey 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

NEW MEXICO 

Mandy Vigil 

Elections Director 

New Mexico Secretary of State 

David Kunko 

County Clerk 

Chaves County, New Mexico 

NEW YORK 

Douglas A. Kellner 

Commissioner, Co-Chair 

New York State Board of Elections 

Rachel L. Bledi 

Commissioner 

Albany County Board of Elections, 

New York 

NORTH CAROLINA 

Veronica Degraffenreid

Director of Election Operations 

North Carolina State Board of 

Elections 

Michael Dickerson 

Director of Elections 

Mecklenburg County, North 

Carolina 

NORTH DAKOTA 

John Arnold 

State Election Director 

North Dakota Secretary of State 

DeAnn Buckhouse 

Election Coordinator 

Cass County, North Dakota 

OHIO 

Amanda Grandjean 

Director of Elections 

Ohio Secretary of State 

Steve Harsman 

Deputy Director 

Montgomery County Board of 

Elections, Ohio 

OKLAHOMA 

Carol Morris 

Assistant Director of Support 

Services 

Oklahoma State Election Board 

Jana Maddux 

Secretary 

Rogers County Election Board, 

Oklahoma 

OREGON 

Stephen N. Trout 

Director of Elections 

Oregon Secretary of State 

Derrin (Dag) Robinson 

County Clerk 

Harney County, Oregon 

PENNSYLVANIA 

Jessica Myers 

Director of Policy 

Pennsylvania Department of State 

Randall O. Wenger 

Chief Clerk/Chief Registrar 

Board of Elections and Registration 

Commission, Lancaster County, 

Pennsylvania 

PUERTO RICO 

Ramón Allende Santos 

Ayudante del Comisionado, Puerto 

Rico 

Walter Vélez Martinez 

Secretario 

Puerto Rico 

RHODE ISLAND 

Rob Rock 

Director of Elections 

Rhode Island Secretary of State 

Louise Phaneuf 

Town Clerk 

Town of Burrillville, Rhode Island 
62 

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

SOUTH CAROLINA 

Marci Andino 

Executive Director 

South Carolina State Election 

Commission 

David Alford 

Director 

Board of Voter Registration and 

Elections, Florence County, South 

Carolina 

SOUTH DAKOTA 

Rachel Soulek 

HAVA Coordinator 

South Dakota Secretary of State 

Carri Crum 

County Auditor 

Clay County, South Dakota 

TENNESSEE 

Mark Goins 

Coordinator of Elections 

Tennessee Secretary of State 

Carolyn Peebles 

Election Commissioner 

Rutherford County, Tennessee 

TEXAS 

Keith Ingram 

Director 

Texas Secretary of State, Elections 

Division 

Dana DeBeauvoir 

County Clerk 

Travis County, Texas 

UTAH 

Justin Lee 

Director of Elections 

Lieutenant Governor of the State 

of Utah 

Sherrie Swensen 

County Clerk 

Salt Lake County, Utah 

VERMONT 

William Senning 

Director of Elections and Campaign

Finance 

Vermont Secretary of State 

Sandra “Sandy” Pinsonault, MMC 

Town Clerk, Vermont 

VIRGIN ISLANDS 

Lisa Harris Moorhead 

Member 

Virgin Islands Board of Elections 

Kevermay Douglas 

Deputy Supervisor of Elections? 

Virgin Islands 

VIRGINIA 

Christopher E. “Chris” Piper 

Commissioner 

Virginia Department of Elections 

Greg S. Riddlemoser 

General Registrar 

Stafford County, Virginia

WASHINGTON 

Stuart Holmes 

Election Information Services 

Supervisor 

Washington Secretary of State’s 

Office

Jerry Pettit 

County Auditor 

Kittitas County, Washington 

WEST VIRGINIA 

Brittany Westfall 

SVRS Coordinator of Elections 

West Virginia Secretary of State 

Brian Wood 

County Clerk 

Putnam County, West Virginia 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

STATE OR TERRITORY STATE ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

LOCAL ELECTION 

OFFICIAL 

WISCONSIN 

Meagan Wolfe 

Administrator 

Wisconsin Elections Commission 

Barbara K.D. Goeckner 

Deputy Clerk/Treasurer/ 

Administrator 

Village of Cambridge, Wisconsin 

WYOMING 

Kai Schon 

Wyoming State Election Director 

Jackie R. Gonzales 

County Clerk 

Albany County, Wyoming 

Board of Advisors 

The Board of Advisors is a 35-member board composed of representatives from the National 

Governors Association; National Conference of State Legislatures; National Association of 

Secretaries of State; National Association of State Election Directors; National Association of 

Counties; the International Association of Government Officials (created from the merger of the 

National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials and Clerks, and the International 

Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers); Election Center; U.S. 

Commission on Civil Rights; and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. 

Other members include representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public 

Integrity and the Civil Rights Division; the director of the U.S. Department of Defense Federal 

Voting Assistance Program; four professionals from the field of science and technology, one 

appointed by each the Speaker and Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Speaker and Minority 

Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. The chairs and ranking minority members of the U.S. 

House of Representatives Committee on House Administration and the U.S. Senate Committee on 

Rules and Administration each appoint two members representing voter interests. 

On February 22, 2019, the Commission appointed EAC Commissioner Thomas Hicks to serve as 

the Designated Federal Officer for the Board of Advisors. The EAC organized the Board of Advisors’ 

annual meeting from April 24 to 25, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Board of Advisors was 

comprised of the following members at the end of 2019. 

2019 U.S. Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors Former Board of Advisors Chair

Michael Winn and current Chair 

Michael Yaki at the Board of Advisors 

annual meeting
64 

MEMBER POSITION APPOINTING ENTITY 

JEFFREY MCLEOD 

Director 

Center for Best Practice’s 

Homeland Security and Public 

Safety Division 

National Governors Association 

SHAUN RAHMEYER 

Administrator 

Nevada Office of Cyber Defense 

Coordination 

National Governors Association 

SENATOR KATHY BERNIER Senator 

Wisconsin State Legislature 

National Conference of State 

Legislatures 

SENATOR DANIEL IVEY-SOTO Senator 

New Mexico State Legislature 

National Conference of State 

Legislatures 

THE HONORABLE PAUL PATE Iowa Secretary of State 

NASS President 

National Association of 

Secretaries of State 

THE HONORABLE JIM 

CONDOS Vermont Secretary of State National Association of 

Secretaries of State 

MICHELLE TASSINARI 

Director/Legal Counsel 

Massachusetts Office of Secretary 

of the Commonwealth Election 

Division 

National Association of State 

Election Directors 

LINDA LAMONE 

Administrator of Elections 

Maryland State Board of 

Elections 

National Association of State 

Election Directors 

RICKY HATCH Clerk/Auditor 

Weber County, Utah National Association of Counties 

ALYSOUN MCLAUGHLIN 

Deputy Election Director 

Montgomery County Board of 

Elections, Maryland 

National Association of Counties 

TINA BARTON City Clerk 

City of Rochester Hills, Michigan U.S. Conference of Mayors 

TIM MATTICE Executive Director 

The Election Center The Election Center 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters

MEMBER POSITION APPOINTING ENTITY 

DEAN LOGAN Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk 

Los Angeles County, California The Election Center 

MICHAEL WINN Director of Elections 

Harris County, Texas 

International Association of 

Government Officials

NEAL KELLEY Registrar of Voters 

Orange County, California 

International Association of 

Government Officials

MICHAEL YAKI Commissioner 

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 

DAVID KLADNEY Commissioner 

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 

MARC GUTHRIE Public Member 

U.S. Access Board 

Architectural and Transportation 

Barrier Compliance Board 

SACHIN PAVITHRAN Public Board Member 

U.S. Access Board 

Architectural and Transportation 

Barrier Compliance Board 

RICHARD PILGER 

Director 

Election Crimes Branch, U.S. 

Department of Justice 

Chief, Office of Public Integrity, 

U.S. Department of Justice 

CHRIS HERREN 

Chief 

Civil Rights Division Voting 

Section, U.S. Department of 

Justice 

Chief, Voting Section Civil Rights 

Division, U.S. Department of 

Justice 

DAVID BEIRNE 

Director 

Federal Voting Assistance 

Program, U.S. Department of 

Defense 

Director, Federal Voting 

Assistance Program, U.S. 

Department of Defense 

PHILIP B. STARK 

Associate Dean, Professor of 

Statistics 

University of California 

Department of Statistics 

Speaker of the House 

ELLIOT BERKE Managing Partner 

Berke Farah LLP House Minority Leader 
66 

MEMBER POSITION APPOINTING ENTITY 

SARAH BALL JOHNSON City Clerk 

Colorado Springs, Colorado Senate Majority Leader 

DR. BARBARA SIMONS Chairwoman 

Verified Voting Foundation Senate Minority Leader 

GREGORY MOORE Executive Director 

NAACP National Voter Fund 

House Committee on 

Administration - Chair 

LAWRENCE NORDEN 

Deputy Director 

Brennan Center for Justice 

Democracy Program 

House Committee on 

Administration - Chair 

JOHN FOGARTY 

Senior Counsel 

Government and Regulatory 

Affairs Practice Group, Clark Hill 

PLC 

House Committee on 

Administration - Ranking 

Member 

DON GRAY County Clerk 

Sangamon County 

House Committee on 

Administration - Ranking 

Member 

JAMES DICKSON 

Co-Chair 

Voting Rights Task Force, 

National Council on Independent 

Living 

Senate Committee on Rules and 

Administration - Chair 

MARK RITCHIE 

President 

Minnesota World’s Fair Bid 

Committee 

Senate Committee on Rules and 

Administration - Chair 

LINDA NIENDICK County Clerk 

Lafayette County, Missouri 

Senate Committee on Rules 

and Administration - Ranking 

Member 

SHANE SCHOELLER County Clerk 

Greene County, Missouri 

Senate Committee on Rules 

and Administration - Ranking 

Member 
FY2019 VOTES OF THE 

COMMISSION 

As required by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Section 207(4), the following section documents 

all votes taken by the Commission through September 30, 2019 for the preceding fiscal year.

TALLY VOTES RESULT 

OF VOTE 

DECIDED BY 

A VOTE OF 

DATE 

TRANSMITTED 

CERTIFIED 

DATE 

Federal Register Publication of the 

Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 

Version 2.0 

Adopted 4-0 2/14/19 2/15/19 

Appointment of Christy McCormick 

as the Chairwoman and Benjamin 

Hovland as the Vice Chairman of 

the EAC 

Adopted 4-0 2/20/19 2/22/19 
68 

TALLY VOTES RESULT 

OF VOTE 

DECIDED BY 

A VOTE OF 

DATE 

TRANSMITTED 

CERTIFIED 

DATE 

Appointment of Designated Federal 

Officers (DFO) to the EAC’s Advisory 

Boards (Donald Palmer as DFO to 

the Standards Board, Thomas Hicks 

as DFO to the Board of Advisors, and 

Benjamin Hovland as DFO to the 

Technical Guidelines Development 

Committee) 

Adopted 4-0 2/20/19 2/22/19 

Approval of the Resolution to Continue 

the EAC Standards Board and Board 

of Advisors 

Adopted 4-0 3/22/19 3/25/19 

Approval of the Resolution to Continue 

the EAC Technical Guidelines 

Development Committee 

Adopted 4-0 3/22/19 3/25/19 

Approval for the Renewal of the 

Charter for the EAC Board of Advisors Adopted 4-0 4/4/19 4/4/19 

Approval for the Renewal of the 

Charter for the EAC Standards Board Adopted 4-0 4/4/19 4/4/19 

Approval for the Renewal of the 

Charter for the EAC Technical 

Guidelines Development Committee 

Adopted 4-0 4/4/19 4/4/19 

Adoption of the 2018 EAC Election 

Administration and Voting Survey 

Comprehensive Report 

Adopted 4-0 6/25/19 6/25/19 

Reappointment of both Brian Newby 

as EAC Executive Director and Clifford 

Tatum as EAC General Counsel for 

a term of four years effective 

October 23, 2019 

Failed 2-2 9/3/19 9/5/19 
2019 EAC Annual Report: Serving America’s Election Officials and Voters