U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

FISCAL YEAR 2022

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Vision and Mission...........................................................................................5

FY 2022 Priority Goals......................................................................................5

Appropriations Language....................................................................................7

Agency Background......................................................................................................8

Goals and Structure.............................................................................................8

Organization Chart...........................................................................................10

FY 2020 Accomplishment Highlights....................................................................11

Operating Plan Summary....................................................................................16

FY 2022 Budget Request Highlights......................................................................17

Budgetary Changes............................................................................................23

Budget Requests and Performance Measures by Goal...................................................24

Status of Management Challenges.........................................................................34

Mandated Reports to Congress.............................................................................34

Attachment A – OIG Budget Request in Detail
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VISION AND MISSION

Vision

A trusted, proactive, and responsive federal agency that helps election officials administer and 

voters participate in elections.

Mission 

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) helps election officials improve the 

administration of elections and helps voters participate in elections.

 

FY 2022 Priorities

-- Serve as a clearinghouse of voting information by providing election officials and voters with 

necessary and timely information and materials as they prepare to administer and participate in 

the 2022 midterm election, as well as any elections leading up to and after.

-- Continue to increase the knowledge base and resources on cybersecurity for state and local 

election officials through training, resources, and best practices.

-- Help the nation administer elections with secure and accessible voting systems by continuing 

to implement the Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) most up-to-date Voluntary Voting 

System Guidelines (VVSG) and accompanying testing and certification program.

-- Administer the 2022 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), the EAC 

instrument used to collect state-by-state data on the administration of federal elections.

Salaries and Expenses

FY 2020

Enacted

FY 2021

Enacted

FY 2022

Request

FTE Dollars FTE Dollars FTE Dollars

37 $15,171,000 49 $17,000,000 65 $22,833,531

Election Security Grants

FY 2020

Enacted

FY 2021

Enacted

FY 2022

Request

FTE Dollars FTE Dollars FTE Dollars

$825,000,000 NA 0 $100,000,000
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-- Maintain the National Mail Voter Registration form.

-- Oversee and distribute grant funding in order to support election officials and allow for the 

continuation and upkeep of training, voting systems, and other election administration 

improvements as needed. 
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Appropriations Language:

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

For necessary expenses to carry out the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-252), 

$22,833,531, of which $1,500,000 shall be transferred to the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology for election reform activities authorized under the Help America Vote Act.

ELECTION SECURITY GRANTS

Notwithstanding section 104(c)(2)(B) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

20904(c)(2)(B)), $100,000,000 is provided to the Election Assistance Commission for 

necessary expenses to make payments to States for activities to improve the administration of 

elections for Federal office, including to enhance election technology and make election 

security improvements, as authorized by sections 101, 103, and 104 of such Act: Provided, That 

for purposes of applying such sections, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

shall be deemed to be a State and, for purposes of sections 101(d)(2) and 103(a) shall be treated 

in the same manner as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

United States Virgin Islands: Provided further, That each reference to the "Administrator of 

General Services" or the "Administrator" in sections 101 and 103 shall be deemed to refer to the 

"Election Assistance Commission": Provided further, That each reference to "$5,000,000" in 

section 103 shall be deemed to refer to "$1,000,000" and each reference to "$1,000,000" in 

section 103 shall be deemed to refer to "$200,000". Provided further, That not later than 45 

days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Commission shall make the 

payments to States under this heading: Provided further, That states shall submit semi-annual 

financial reports and annual progress reports.
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Agency Background:

Congress established the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help election officials 

and voters improve and participate in federal elections. Congress charged the EAC with 

fulfilling its mission by administering a national election administration clearinghouse that 

studies election administration practices, provides best practices to the nation, helps voters 

register to vote and participate in federal elections, manages federal standards for voting 

systems, tests and certifies voting systems to the national standard, and distributes 

congressionally appropriated funds to states for the improvement of election administration.

The EAC consists of four presidentially appointed Commissioners, professional staff, and three 

FACA committees. The majority and minority party each have the authority to appoint two of 

the four Commissioners who lead the agency, making the EAC a bipartisan commission by 

statutory mandate. 

The EAC’s three statutorily mandated FACA committees are the Board of Advisors, the 

Standards Board, and the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC). The three 

groups advise the agency and help develop the EAC’s national voting system testing and 

certification standard, the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). 

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) dictates the membership of the three committees. The 

Standards Board is a 110-member board consisting of 55 state election officials (the 50 states, 

the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) selected 

by their respective chief state election official, and 55 local election officials selected through a 

process supervised by the chief state election officials. The Board of Advisors consists of 

groups representing governors; mayors; state legislatures; secretaries of state; state election 

directors; county recorders, election officials and clerks; voter advocacy groups; federal 

agencies; and professionals in the fields of science and technology. 

The TGDC helps the EAC develop its Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). It is 

composed of 14 members appointed jointly by EAC and the Director of the U.S. Department of 

Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), who is the chairperson of 

TGDC. 

Goals and Structure:

As established and detailed in the EAC’s FY18-22 strategic plan, the EAC’s operations and 

offices are aligned to address the Commission’s congressional mandates to serve as a 

clearinghouse of information on voting; test and certify voting systems; administer and maintain 

the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) voter registration form; assist States with 

administration of HAVA funds; and report to Congress on NVRA and Uniformed and Overseas 

Citizens Absentee Voting Act voting activity.

The EAC’s FY18-22 strategic plan sets forth four strategic goals and 13 strategic objectives. 

The four strategic goals are as follows:
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1) Expand the nation’s comprehensive understanding of election administration;

2) Proactively and responsively create products that help election officials improve the 

administration of elections and help voters more easily participate in elections;

3) Help election officials improve the administration of American elections through the 

distribution of EAC assistance and products; and

4) Ensure continued effective operation of the EAC in order to achieve its goals while 

acting as good stewards of public funds.
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Organization Chart
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FISCAL YEAR 2020 ACCOMPLISHMENT HIGHLIGHTS

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is a trusted, proactive, and responsive 

bipartisan federal commission that helps election officials administer and voters participate in 

elections. Established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), the EAC provides funds 

to state election offices to improve and strengthen security around federal elections, serves as 

the nation’s clearinghouse for information on election administration, conducts the Election 

Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) and other studies, develops the Voluntary Voting 

System Guidelines (VVSG), accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and 

administers the National Mail Voter Registration Form in accordance with the National Voter 

Registration Act of 1993. From coast-to-coast, the EAC is providing services for state and local 

election officials and the voters they serve. Among the EAC’s most notable accomplishments 

during Fiscal Year 2020 are the following:

Distributing HAVA and CARES Grants 

In 2020, Congress appropriated $825 million in new HAVA grant funding to the states,

territories, and the District of Columbia to improve the administration of federal elections with 

an emphasis on security enhancements to election systems. The Consolidated Appropriations 

Act of 2020 provided $425 million in election security grants to states, adding to the $380 

million appropriated in 2018. Congress appropriated an additional $400 million under the 2020 

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). CARES funding was only 

available to states until December 31, 2020 to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the 

coronavirus for the 2020 federal election cycle. 

The EAC awarded HAVA and CARES funds to the states in record time, less than 45 days after 

the Act passed. For each new appropriation, all states received pre-award notices, budget and 

narrative guidance, access to EAC webinars, reporting guidance, phone and email consultations, 

and ongoing technical support. The EAC grants team also proactively reached out to states to 

provide guidance, respond to inquiries, and review proposals and reports.

The addition of CARES Act funds in 2020 doubled the workload of EAC’s grants team and 

increased the questions and requests for guidance on use of the funds by more than 70%. The 

EAC was also required to send reports to Congress on each state’s use of the CARES funds to 

respond to the pandemic within 23 days of every primary as well as after the November general

election. This required approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act for the additional reporting 

requirements which the EAC also accomplished in record time. 

State reports covering the 2020 federal election cycle demonstrate concerted nationwide efforts 

to address and overcome the challenges created by the global pandemic and to administer safe 

and secure federal elections in addition to on-going efforts to ensure election systems are 

protected from cyber-attacks. Expenditure reports indicate that most states are spending HAVA

funds on items that directly improve election security. In fact, at least 75 percent of the funds 
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have been devoted to technological and cybersecurity improvements, the purchase of new 

voting equipment, and improvements to voter registration systems. CARES funding was 

primarily used to ensure the security of voting by mail, purchase ballot drop boxes, increase 

cybersecurity, expand safe and secure voting options, and provide safe polling locations to 

protect election officials, poll workers, and voters. 

The EAC’s grants office continues to work closely with states regarding both HAVA and 

CARES funds, including ongoing administrative responsibilities, technical support, and the 

closure of CARES grants and collection of unexpended federal funds. 

Strengthening Election Security and Voter Confidence

The EAC understands that voter confidence can be enhanced when election officials and their 

federal partners adequately prepare for and respond to election security challenges. As 

demonstrated in the 2016 elections, such challenges include election disinformation campaigns

and malicious attempts to breach voter registration databases and other election systems, the use 

of ransomware, and other emerging and evolving threats to election infrastructure.

As the agency positioned to communicate directly with election officials across the country, 

the EAC played an early and leading role in establishing trust and open lines of 

communications between state and local leaders and the federal government entities that work 

on election security. The EAC drove the development of the election security working group 

that eventually became the election infrastructure subsector’s Government Coordinating 

Council (GCC). Led by the EAC chair on the GCC executive committee, GCC members 

include the EAC chairperson and vice chair, as well as three state election officials and three 

local election officials drawn from the EAC’s three federal advisory committees. The EAC’s 

remaining two commissioners serve on the GCC as ex officio members. In addition to the 

EAC’s work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish the GCC, the 

Commission supported establishing the Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) comprised of 

private election equipment manufacturers and vendors.

Beyond the GCC and SCC, the Commission takes a multifaceted approach to helping state and 

local election officials strengthen election security. This work includes testing and federally

certifying voting systems, providing hands-on training and technical assistance on IT 

management and post-election audits, producing security-focused resources, disseminating 

security best practice information and checklists to state and local election officials, as well as 

hosting widely attended forums that feature security experts as speakers.

Election Technology, Advancing VVSG 2.0

As states seek to invest in the purchase of new voting equipment, election leaders are 

continuing to turn to the EAC’s Testing and Certification Program as a key resource in 

ensuring the nation’s voting systems are tested to confirm the secure and accurate tabulation of 

ballots. This includes seeking information about how best to develop Requests for Proposals, 
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information on the systems currently certified, and implementation of the next iteration of the 

Voluntary Voting System Guidelines, which is known as VVSG 2.0.

The EAC took a number of steps in FY 2020 and 2021 to advance VVSG 2.0, a process that 

began in earnest following the reestablishment of a quorum of EAC commissioners in 

January 2019. These steps included: reviewing input from the public comment period held 

during FY 2020; hosting three virtual public hearings on the record on the proposed 

requirements; developing and publishing test assertions for requirements; and culminating in 

adoption of the VVSG 2.0 by a unanimous vote of the Commissioners on February 10, 2021. 

Formal adoption of the VVSG 2.0 allows the EAC to begin our implementation plan in 

conjunction with our key stakeholders such as the NIST National Voluntary Laboratory 

Accreditation Program (NVLAP), voting system test laboratories (VSTLs), and registered 

voting system manufacturers. The EAC expects to be able to accredit VSTLs to VVSG 2.0 in 

Q1 FY 2022 in conjunction with NIST NVLAP accreditation. Concurrent with the 

accreditation program updates, the EAC is creating a lifecycle policy that will create a 

regular update cadence for the VVSG moving forward and address how older standards will 

be deprecated.

Conducting Essential Research on Election Administration and Infrastructure

In June 2021, the EAC will release the 2020 Election Administration and Voting Survey 

(EAVS) Comprehensive Report and dataset. The biennial EAVS is the agency’s flagship 

research initiative, collecting 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 state-by-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. EAVS data is utilized by countless stakeholders in the election 

community, including members of Congress, legislative staff, federal officials, journalists, 

academics, advocates, and election officials themselves. In today’s environment of heightened 

concerns regarding cybersecurity in elections, EAVS data is increasingly being used by 

intelligence analysts, members of the national security community, and other stakeholders 

who are working to secure U.S. election infrastructure.

The EAC will host an Election Data Forum, soon after with the release of the 2020 EAVS

report and its submission to Congress. The event will convene 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.

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. Respondents to the 2020 EAVS 

continue to have the option of completing the EAVS online, along with the option of using the
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traditional EAVS data collection template. 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 will 

release individualized 2020 EAVS Data Briefs for each state and territory in Fall 2021. The 

briefs are snapshots of key EAVS data points. Complementing these efforts, the EAC will also

release the 2020 EAVS Data Interactive. The EAVS Data Interactive is an online tool that

allows visitors to explore, visualize, and compare election jurisdictions’ EAVS responses.

Election Accessibility

The EAC continues to support language accessibility in elections and has done so since its 

inception in 2002. This includes creating glossaries and phrase books of common election 

terminology, providing Help America Vote Act funds to states to improve language 

accessibility, and offering the National Mail Voter Registration Form in multiple languages.

In addition, the EAC continues to actively engage voters with disabilities and advocacy groups 

focused on accessibility. This included distributing 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 February 2021 

Legislative Seminar with the American Council of the Blind.

In February 2020, the EAC also hosted the 2020 Elections Disability, Accessibility, and 

Security Forum. The all day-event featured panels of election officials, people with disabilities, 

advocates for people with disabilities, and election security experts. In February 2021, the EAC 

released the “Disability and Voting Accessibility in the 2020 Elections” comprehensive national 

report. The EAC conducted this study with Rutgers University to identify advancements and 

gaps in accessibility for voters with disabilities. A public, virtual roundtable on accessibility 

lessons learned from the 2020 election was also held in February to discuss the results and get 

feedback from election officials and advocates.

Clearinghouse

In March 2021, the EAC announced the 2020 Clearinghouse Award winners, also known as 

the “Clearie” Awards, for best practices in election administration. Established by the Help 

America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), the EAC is charged with serving as a clearinghouse for 

election administration information. To further this mission, the EAC launched the Clearies 

in 2016 to promote best practices in elections and celebrate the accomplishments of election 

officials.

The award categories include innovation in election administration; improving accessibility 

for voters with disabilities; best practices in recruiting, training, and retaining poll workers; 

and creative and original “I Voted” sticker design. The EAC also announced a new category 
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this year for innovation in election cybersecurity and technology. Winners were selected by 

two independent panels of election officials from the EAC’s advisory boards with the EAC 

Commissioners serving as judges for the sticker category. 

Honorees included jurisdictions of varying sizes, from large states with more than 8 million 

registered voters to townships of around 75,000 voters. Many of the programs were adapted 

or created in response to the pandemic, but the concepts behind them can help voters for 

years to come.

Additionally, in anticipation of the 2020 presidential election, the EAC updated its website 

to provide users with an enhanced experience. The new homepage approach allows visitors 

to self-select their perspective and area of interests to enrich their online experience and 

more readily access the EAC’s large online clearinghouse.

The EAC continued to add more state-specific resources to its website, directing voters to 

trusted sources for voter registration, options to cast a ballot, and contact information for 

where they are registered.
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Operating Plan Summary

Salaries and Expenses FY 2020 Enacted FY 2021 

Enacted

FY 2022 

President’s 

Budget Request

Full-Time Equivalent Staff (FTE) 37 49 65

Full-Time Staff 33 49 65

Other than Full-Time Staff 4 4

Payroll Full-time Personnel 3,546,679 5,936,994 6,605,492

Payroll Other than Full-time Personnel 84,342 100,000

Subtotal Personnel Compensation 3,631,021 6,036,994 6,605,492

Personnel Benefits 1,554,421 1,450,501 2,870,925

Subtotal PC&B 5,185,442 7,487,495 9,476,417

Travel 148,571 50,000 500,000

Rent, Communications, Equipment 

Rentals

369,831 127,197 682,309

Printing, Reproduction 32,239 15,000 24,000

Other Services 4,967,433 7,576,532 10,321,304

NIST 1,500,000 1,500,000 1,500,000

Supplies and Subscriptions 81,204 90,000 129,578

Equipment 484,660 150,000 195,528

Financial Transfers (OIG) 1,620 3,776 4,395

Agency’s Relocation Expenses 2,400,000 - -

Subtotal, Non-personnel 9,985,558 9,512,505 13,357,114

Total Salaries and Expenses 15,171,000 17,000,000 22,833,531

Election Security Grants FY 2020 Enacted FY 2021 

Enacted

FY 2022 

President’s 

Budget Request

Full-Time Equivalent Staff (FTE) 0 0 0

Full-Time Staff 0 0 0

Subtotal PC&B 0 0 0

Grants 825,000,000 0 100,000,000

Subtotal, Non-personnel 825,000,000 0 100,000,000

Total Election Security Grants 825,000,000 0 100,000,000
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FY 2022 Budget Request Highlights

In November 2020, the nation administered and participated in the 2020 general election. There 

were numerous new election administration challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic as 

well as the ongoing cybersecurity threats that continue to evolve and create new challenges in 

the realm of elections. Election systems are still the focus of pervasive and adaptive cyber 

threats from empowered actors, and election officials are charged with growing responsibilities 

to defend their cyber systems against such threats. The EAC’s mission of supporting election 

officials and voters was impactful as the nation navigated this challenge and administered the 

foundation of our nation’s democracy, the nation’s elections.

The EAC’s FY 2022 budget justification highlights its plans to continue to help election 

officials efficiently and effectively administer secure and accessible elections, use federallyprovided cybersecurity resources, develop and share best practices, test and certify voting 

machines, and research and report election administration data, as well as help voters participate 

and have confidence in our nation’s elections. Highlights of the EAC’s plans include: a) 

cybersecurity infrastructure assistance; b) testing and certifying voting machines under the 

EAC’s new Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG); c) gathering and distribution of 

election administration best practices including but not limited to poll-worker recruitment and 

management, serving voters with disabilities, meeting the needs of voters with limited English 

proficiency, and managing and protecting cyber resources; d) continuing to work to ensure the 

effectiveness of congressionally-appropriated election improvement funds of 2018 and 2020; 

and e) studying and reporting on election administration practices. 

Monitoring and Auditing Federal Grants for the Improvement of Election Administration

A core component of the EAC’s mission is distributing, assisting with and monitoring the use of 

federal grant funds. After an eight-year hiatus in grant funding, Congress appropriated $380

million of new federal funds in March 2018 and $425 million in January 2020 and charged the 

EAC with distributing these new funds under Section 101 of the Help America Vote Act. In 

addition, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act 

that included another $400 million of federal grant funds to disburse to states in order to help 

with the 2020 presidential election. This renewed infusion of grant funds requires the EAC to 

train and provide technical assistance to new state staff unfamiliar with federal grant processes. 

This is part of the EAC’s responsibility to help states make the best use of these funds through 

its role as the nation’s clearinghouse of election administration information and practices. The 

EAC is also responsible for monitoring and auditing the states’ use of the funds. This work is 

extensive and designed to ensure the funds are being used as intended by Congress and in a 

manner that best improves the administration of U.S. elections. This work will continue into and 

past FY 2022, is labor-intensive, and currently accomplished with minimal automated 

processes. 
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Due to the increase in grant funding in recent years and the potential for more, the EAC requires

additional staff to distribute, monitor, and perform oversight on the use of grant funds given to 

states. In FY 2018, with just one part-time staff member and one part-time contract employee, 

the EAC Grants Management Team administered and disbursed $380 million in Election 

Security Grants to states. In FY 2020, the EAC hired one full-time grants person and recently 

hired a grants specialist to administer the increasing grants load and disburse $825 million in 

funding, including the CARES Act funds. The EAC’s Grants Team continues to work closely 

with the states regarding these funds and will have ongoing administrative responsibilities 

related to the funds which are available until expended.

Cybersecurity Infrastructure Assistance / Testing and Certification Expansion / VVSG 

Modernization

Since the designation of elections as critical infrastructure both the EAC and the Cybersecurity 

and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have continued to collaborate to assist election 

officials in preparing for existing and new cybersecurity threats. Election officials are now 

operators of complex IT systems that face modern, persistent, and adaptive threats from new 

types of actors, such as nation states. The role of the IT manager is not new to election officials, 

but the sophistication and volume of the threats they face are growing. The EAC is the only 

federal agency focused on the whole of election administration, and additional resources will be 

critical to provide election officials with best practices and other resources in cybersecurity. 

Furthermore, many of the voting and election systems around the country are more than 10 

years old. As election officials prepare to replace their voting machines, and manufacturers start 

to design and build new systems, they will look to the EAC’s Testing and Certification program 

for guidance and the most current standard for voting machine functionality, security, and 

accessibility. The EAC’s Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), and the EAC’s 

accompanying Testing and Certification program, provide the only national framework for 

voting system standard setting, testing, and certification. The most modern draft version of these 

guidelines, VVSG 2.0 has been completed and adopted by the Commissioners. These standards 

are an essential contributing factor when it comes to the security of our nation’s elections, and 

the EAC is proud to continue this work with regular updates in the years to come. 

The EAC intends to utilize FY 2022 resources to keep the VVSG process agile, allowing for a 

regular review for accessibility, security, and functionality as technology advances. EAC staff 

must regularly monitor technology standards and update the VVSG as a live document. The

research requires expertise in voting systems, cybersecurity, functionality and accessibility in 

order to make recommended changes for the EAC commissioners to adopt new standards.

Additionally, the EAC intends to expand efforts to support penetration testing of voting systems 

and component-level testing and certification.
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Agency IT Modernization

Just as the EAC and its federal partners are assisting election offices to secure their information 

technology systems, the EAC has taken important steps in recent years to secure and modernize 

its information technology infrastructure and enhance the agency’s cybersecurity risk 

management posture. The EAC will utilize increased funding in FY 2022 to further enhance its 

security posture, implementing modernized systems as well as incident response and 

contingency plans. The EAC would implement increased real-time monitoring and update/patch 

automation to support its operations. The EAC must strengthen its cyber security workforce and 

will use funding to hire one position dedicated to day-to-day technical cybersecurity 

monitoring, configuration, and maintenance as required statutorily by FISMA.

Additionally, as the EAC continues to grow, the demands placed on its existing IT team have 

grown exponentially. The EAC has taken steps to improve automation of many of its internal 

processes and decrease reliance on outside contractor support. The EAC will use additional 

funding to provide further specialized training for its internal IT staff and would hire one 

position in a junior support role to handle support tickets, equipment setup, and other tasks that 

cannot be automated.

Accessibility 

The EAC seeks to establish a dedicated accessibility program, requiring additional resources to 

assist with all accessibility challenges related to election administration, providing best practices 

and other important information for election officials and voters who need assistance to meet 

accessibility requirements. The EAC currently has minimal resources devoted to accessibility. 

More than 38.9 million Americans with disabilities, roughly one-sixth of the electorate, are 

currently eligible to vote. This growing demographic encompasses a broad range of voters, 

including those with mobility, communicative, physical, or cognitive impairments. Voters with 

disabilities may also face educational, cultural, and political barriers that can impede 

participation in elections. In order to assist election officials in meeting the accessibility 

requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA), the EAC aspires to increase our services and assistance in this highly important area.

The EAC will use additional funding to hire a specialist dedicated to working on accessibility 

issues at the agency. Housed in the Clearinghouse department, a Subject Matter Expert on 

Accessibility will allow the agency to provide dedicated resources to the development of 

accessibility related materials to stakeholders including election officials and voters. 

Additionally, the Subject Matter Expert on Accessibility will lead the EAC’s internal efforts to 

include accessibility in all areas of our work providing a higher level of service on accessibility 

issues.
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Studying Election Administration: The Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) 

and Other Research

Federal law mandates that the EAC collect, study, and distribute information on particular 

aspects of election administration and voting. This Election Administration and Voting Survey 

(EAVS) is the most comprehensive data collection of election administration practices and 

policy in the country and many election jurisdictions, federal entities, and academics rely on this 

information. The EAC administers EAVS every two years, but preparation to administer the 

survey and evaluation of its results and methods are ongoing tasks. The EAC will distribute the 

2020 EAVS Comprehensive Report in June 2021. 

As the EAC continues to administer EAVS, the agency is always seeking ways to make it easier 

for states and localities to respond to its questions and increase how much the agency and the 

country can use this significant resource. These objectives are further detailed in Objectives 1.1, 

1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, and 3.2 of the EAC’s current strategic plan, and the EAC looks forward to 

continued work to ensure a high quality, accurate, and useful resource for the nation. During FY 

2022, the EAC will design and administer the survey that will capture election administration 

data from the close of the 2020 general election through the close of the 2022 general election.

In all, the EAC uses data-driven, evidence-based solutions to help election officials administer 

secure and accessible elections. The EAC also uses EAVS data to help voters participate in 

these elections by studying and promoting the effective administration of federal elections.

Clearinghouse

The EAC is working alongside federal partners and other stakeholders to support election 

officials as they seek to protect voters against disinformation in elections and promote trusted 

sources of information. In America’s hyper-decentralized election system, where many voters 

are unaware of which office administers elections in their jurisdiction, it can be a challenge to 

provide voters with official information on registration and voting procedures. The EAC would 

utilize funding in FY 2022 to improve voter-facing information on vote.gov and the EAC 

website, as well as engage in promotional activities supporting anti-disinformation campaigns, 

such as the previous #TrustedInfo2020 campaign. The EAC previously entered into an 

interagency agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA) regarding vote.gov and 

in 2020 participated in #TrustedInfo2020 educational efforts led by the National Association of 

Secretaries of State.

The EAC website is a core component of the agency’s clearinghouse function. From “nuts and 

bolts” election administration issues, such as voter registration, options to cast a ballot, ballot 

design, preventing long lines, and serving voters with disabilities, to emerging issues, such as 

election security, cybersecurity, and contingency planning and emergency preparedness, the 

EAC website serves as a unique national platform for information and resources that can help 

election officials improve election administration in their jurisdictions. The EAC will utilize 

increased funding in FY 2022 to revamp its website and streamline how clearinghouse 

resources and information are organized. 
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Additionally, the EAC will utilize increased funding in FY 2022 to expand the newly dedicated 

Clearinghouse Department. Staffed by former election officials and Subject Matter Experts, the 

Clearinghouse will focus on developing resources for election officials across the country 

touching on all aspects of election administration. These resources will include addressing

issues that emerged during the 2020 elections and development of new and innovative 

programs, guides, trainings, and other resources focused on innovative developments in election 

administration and accessibility. The Clearinghouse staff would also allow the EAC to produce

helpful documents to assist our stakeholders with contingency planning as outlined below. The 

EAC is currently establishing a necessary minimum of dedicated Clearinghouse staff with 

current resources available. It will be essential that the EAC build on this in FY 2022 and going 

forward.

Contingency Planning Program

With an aimed focus on election resiliency, the EAC seeks to establish a contingency planning, 

risk mitigation, and crisis management program that assists election offices with best practices, 

training, and resources to allow for an adequate and prepared response to emergency and crisis 

situations that might arise unexpectedly. Examples of contingencies include, but are not limited 

to pandemics (COVID-19), natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, severe snow and rainstorms, 

fires, etc.), technology disasters (e.g., power outages), political and social events (e.g., war, civil 

unrest, medical emergencies, etc.), and election-related emergencies (e.g. lack of poll workers 

or polling places, shortage of ballots or voting systems, charges of voter intimidation, etc.). 

Change management, in this context, refers to how an election office handles situations that 

impact how the office functions in its capacity as an election and voter registration agency. For 

example: changes in Federal and State laws, budget fluctuations, relocation of election office, 

staffing changes, agency reorganization, etc. Unlike contingencies, change management focuses 

on events the office is already aware of and do not rise unexpectedly.

Federal Advisory Committee for Local Election Official Leaders

With the establishment of the Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating 

Council (GCC) and Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), 

the infrastructure for national coordination and information sharing among election officials on 

election security and cybersecurity matters has improved significantly since 2016. The EAC 

Standards Board, a 110-member federal advisory committee comprised of one state and one 

local election official from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. 

territories, complements this infrastructure and provides a platform for election officials to share 

information and coordinate on election security and cybersecurity, as well as other election 

administration issues. One notable weakness of this existing national infrastructure is the 

limited presence of local election officials, who play the lead role in administering elections in 

most states. 
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The EAC will utilize increased funding in FY 2022 to convene a 100-member federal advisory 

committee comprised of two local election officials from each state. The local election officials 

represented on the advisory committee will include local election officials who are currently 

serving, or have previously served, in a leadership role in a state election official professional 

association if such an association exists in the jurisdiction. An alternative process would be used 

in the few states where no such associations exist. This would create a body through which the 

EAC and its federal partners can share information quickly among local election official leaders 

and receive critical input and advice regarding EAC programs and activities, particularly 

informing discussions regarding level of resources and types of assistance most beneficial to 

local jurisdictions. Additionally, this body would be designed to help strengthen the profession 

of local election administration through the existing state association structure.

Maintain the Election Security Grants investments of 2018 and 2020

Cyber-attacks on U.S. election systems in 2016 led to the appropriation of funds for the EAC’s 

Election Security grant program in 2018 and again in 2020. Since that time, attacks have 

increased and gained in sophistication. States must continually enhance and improve their 

systems to stay ahead of attempts to breach their security measures. The EAC Election Security 

grants provided the cornerstone for these improvements. Among other things, funds went 

toward implementing multi-factor authentication requirements in voting systems, upgrading 

voter registration systems to be more secure, training local election jurisdictions in cyber 

security, and conducting cyber and physical security assessments of local elections offices in 

conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, funds helped six states 

revise voting systems to ensure a paper trail for audit and security purposes.

Securing elections requires constant vigilance and improvements to systems to stay ahead of 

increasingly sophisticated attacks. States approach the security of their systems strategically. 

They manage their funds to ensure the proper investment in new systems at the right time and to 

maintain and improve those security systems in succeeding years. Due to the nature of operation

and maintenance of systems, these investments are spread out over time and need a steady 

source of funding. As it has in the past, the EAC would distribute any funds provided by 

Congress to support elections officials.

The Annual Non-Expenditure Transfer to NIST

In 2022, EAC includes a request for the annual non-expenditure transfer to NIST at $1,500,000 

for activities required under HAVA Sections 221 Technical Guidelines Development 

Committee (TGDC), 231 Certification and Testing of Voting Systems, and 245 Study and 

Report on Electronic Voting and the Electoral Process. 
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Budgetary Changes FY 2021 Enacted to FY 2022 President’s Budget Request

(in whole dollars)

Personnel Compensation and Benefits...................................+$1,988,922

Reflects an increase of full-year staff from FY 2021 for mission-critical 

activities, as well as cost-of-living and benefits increases

Travel....................................................................................+$450,000

Recalibration of outreach efforts due to COVID 

Other Services.................................................................+$2,744,772

Increase of contracts -- services to assist and expand existing mission-critical activities, 

such as cyber-security, clearinghouse, testing & certification, accessibility and audits

Miscellaneous.................................................................+$649,837

Telecommunications and equipment rentals (+$555,112), Printing (+$9,000), 

Supplies and subscriptions (+$39,578), Equipment (+$45,528), Financial transfers 

(+$619)

Grants..................................................................................................+$100,000,000

Distribute funds to states for the continuation and upkeep of training, voting systems, 

and other election administration improvements as needed
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Budget Requests and Performance Measures by Strategic Plan Goal

EAC’s request is presented in terms of four goals: 1. Analyze, 2. Build, 3. Distribute, and 4. 

Operate:

ANALYZE

Strategic Goal 1: Expand the nation’s comprehensive understanding of American election 

administration. 

Goal 1 is led by the EAC Research Division, with input from the Clearinghouse, 

Communications, and Testing and Certification Divisions. Objectives and success indicators for 

the goal are as follows:

OBJECTIVES

Objectives of the goal include expanding EAC’s in-depth understanding of the administration of 

American elections; helping others contribute to our nation’s understanding of American 

election administration; and leveraging EAC’s research to inform agency decision-making.

SUCCESS INDICATORS

The anticipated success indicators of the goal are analysis of Election Administration and 

Voting Survey (EAVS) data that produces insights into U.S. Election Administration; 

successful creation of tools to make both responding to EAVS and analyzing EAVS data easier; 

increases in the number of entities providing information, research, and data related to U.S. 

election administration; and the ability to better design EAC assistance products to better design 

EAC assistance to its stakeholders.

In FY 2022, the EAC will continue to expand the nation’s comprehensive understanding of 

American election administration by managing and maintaining the nation’s clearinghouse of 

election administration information and practices, analyzing 2020 EAVS data, conducting 

research of best practices and emerging topics in election administration in areas such as 

cybersecurity, accessibility, language access, and technology. 

a) EAC Elections Clearinghouse

Congress charged the EAC with building and maintaining a national clearinghouse of election 

administration information and best practices. Maintaining this clearinghouse requires the EAC 

to regularly research current election administration practices and needs as well as collect best 

practices from across the country. 

Congress mandates that the EAC study a number of particular election administration topics, 

and the EAC must study others to effectively carry its charge as the national clearinghouse. 

More information about the congressionally mandated topics is covered in the following section 

titled, The Election Administration & Voting Survey (EAVS). The additional topics that the EAC 

chooses to study are selected based on congressional mandates and the current and expected 

future needs of election officials and voters.
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The clearinghouse is hosted on the EAC’s website, https://www.eac.gov, and it contains best 

practices, research, instructional videos, and white papers on a wide variety of topics such as 

voter registration, voter registration list management, poll worker recruiting and management, 

staff training, voting system information, election system procurement help, new topics such as 

risk limiting audits and critical infrastructure, and cybersecurity. These resources are essential to 

the nation as its election officials face the new and ever-evolving cybersecurity threats. Election 

officials regularly look to the EAC as a starting place when understanding new issues and the 

EAC is dedicated to ensuring that when election officials look for help defending their cyber 

systems that they are provided with what they need.

In FY 2022, the EAC will expand the newly formed Clearinghouse Division to further this goal, 

ensuring the EAC has staff with experience running elections to provide insight into the needs 

of local election officials. Additionally, the EAC will continue to host election information and 

best practices on its public facing website, holding events and hearings, and it will continue to 

meet its congressional mandate by researching further topics. In 2020 and 2021, EAC has 

increased the number of virtual events and videos with election officials across the country that 

enables the agency to share more best practices while COVID-19 precautions are still being 

taken. 

b) The Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS)

The EAC administers and oversees the biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey 

(EAVS), the only comprehensive collection and report of data on election administration and 

voting systems of its kind. Through the EAVS, the EAC surveys the 50 States, the District of 

Columbia, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. Much of the data collected through EAVS is congressionally mandated. EAC uses the 

survey to help inform Congress on the impact of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) 

on the administration of elections for Federal offices, and on the Uniformed and Overseas 

Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

The survey, performed in conjunction with the Department of Defense’s Federal Voting 

Assistance Program, collects data for more than 400 variables related to voter registration, 

military and overseas voting, absentee ballots, polling places, poll workers, and provisional 

ballots. The survey data is used by election officials, academics, and others to improve their 

methods, metrics, and tactics in serving voters and maintaining voter registration lists. EAVS 

falls under the President’s Management Agenda goal to leverage data as a strategic asset. The 

data collected in EAVS provides a unique perspective in election administration that can drive 

program decision making within the agency. 

The FY 2022 Request

For FY 2022, the EAC requests funds to continually meet its Congressional mandate to serve as 

the national clearinghouse of election administration information by doing the following: 
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• Administer EAVS and conduct additional research on cyber security programs and other 

areas of election administration that will assist with decision -making on the state and 

federal level.

• Conduct forums, webinars, and hearings to gather information about potential best 

practices and information pertinent to election administration by bringing together 

election officials, technology innovators, individuals with disabilities, accessibility 

equipment and voting system manufacturers, academics, computer programmers and 

security experts, voting system standards developers, and website developers and 

designers.

• Convene a 100-member federal advisory committee comprised of two local election 

officials from each state that will enable the EAC and federal partners to share 

information quickly and receive feedback on election administration activities. 

• Develop an Accessibility Program to address accessibility challenges related to election 

administration and provide information to election officials and voters that require 

assistance to meet accessibility requirements.

Build

Strategic Goal 2: Proactively and responsively create products that assist election officials 

to improve election administration and help voters more easily participate in elections.

Goal 2 is led by the EAC’s Clearinghouse Division and Testing and Certification Division with 

input from the Communications, Payments and Grants, and Research Divisions. Objectives and 

success indicators for the goal are as follows:

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the goal are to continually create resources that help election officials improve 

the administration of elections, help voters participate in election, and to responsively and 

predictably create resources that respond to newly arising needs of election officials.

SUCCESS INDICATORS

The anticipated success indicators of the goal are designed as assistance products created to 

fulfill a specific need of EAC stakeholders; feedback from EAC stakeholders indicating ease of 

use and implementation of EAC assistance; and rates of use for products by the stakeholder 

group that the product was intended to serve.

Congress charged the EAC with acting as the Nation’s clearinghouse of election administration 

information by a) crafting and managing a national voluntary standard and testing program for 

voting system testing and certification, b) collecting and publishing information and research on 

election administration information and data, and c) collecting and distributing best election 

administration practices. In Strategic Goal 2: Build – the EAC fulfills these mandates by using 

its experience, research, outreach, and meetings – detailed in the section for Strategic Goal 1: 

Analyze – to build and manage these congressionally mandated clearinghouse resources. 

a) Testing & Certification of Voting Systems
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Under HAVA, the EAC is responsible for assisting states with improvements of voting systems 

through the distribution of federal funds and by creating and administering a voluntary voting 

system testing and certification program. The testing and certification program creates and 

maintains standards against which voting systems can be tested, works with EAC-accredited 

voting system test labs to test voting systems against these standards, and certifies voting 

systems that successfully pass these tests. This standard is called the Voluntary Voting System 

Guidelines (VVSG). States’ use of this standard and the EAC’s accompanying testing and 

certification program are voluntary, but most states choose to use the standard or its testing 

program in whole or in part. The VVSG helps states and localities, which are charged with 

selecting their own voting systems, select high-quality, secure, and accessible voting systems 

with confidence.

In FY 2022, the EAC plans to implement the most up-to-date version of its VVSG (VVSG 2.0). 

The EAC will extensively reach out to states, localities, and manufacturers because states and 

localities select the standard which their voting systems must meet, and manufacturers build and 

sell the voting systems that the states and localities use to administer their elections. Through its 

outreach, the EAC will help states understand the contents of VVSG 2.0 and its value as a 

potential standard for their use, and the EAC will help manufacturers understand how newly 

developed voting systems must perform to be certified to the standard. VVSG 2.0 will be a 

powerful national asset in ensuring the integrity of the nation’s elections.

In addition to its certification responsibilities, the EAC also must ensure that voting systems are 

manufactured and tested in high-quality environments. To ensure this, the EAC conducts 

manufacturing site reviews, and works with NIST’s National Voluntary Laboratory 

Accreditation Program (NVLAP) to inspect, monitor, and accredit testing laboratories for 

testing of voting systems. The EAC and NVLAP use the international quality standard ISO 

17025 to review each voting system test lab’s technical, physical and personnel resources, as 

well as its testing, management, and quality assurance policies and protocols. EAC monitors 

voting system test laboratories (VSTLs) through a comprehensive compliance management 

program and on-site reviews to ensure that VSTLs meet all program requirements. 

In addition to voting system certification and laboratory accreditation, the EAC along with its 

110-member Standards Board, 35-member Board of Advisors, and 15-member Technical 

Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) work together to update and implement voluntary 

testing guidelines for voting systems.

b) Election Administration Educational Resources

As the nation’s clearinghouse of election administration information, the EAC must provide 

resources on newly developed and currently pressing election administration issues. State and 

local election officials, Congress, other federal agencies, and voters regularly leverage these 

EAC resources. Previously, the EAC produced nation-leading resources of risk limiting audits, 

critical infrastructure, language access, accessibility for voters with disabilities, and general 

election security for states, localities, and voters. EAC stakeholders regularly use these 

resources to improve the administration of their elections, educate voters, and generally increase 

voters’ confidence in the nation’s elections. 
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The EAC has produced white papers, educational videos, blog posts, presentations, and virtual 

as well as in-person delivered forums, hearings, and other events. For FY 2022, the EAC plans 

to continue produce these resources and the agency plans to continue building these resources in 

formats that help facilitate their use. With the addition of a dedicated Clearinghouse Division, 

the EAC will be able to leverage extensive elections experience and expertise to develop 

innovative, creative, and informative resources for election officials on all aspects of election 

administration. 

c) Election Administration Best Practices

The EAC is also charged with regularly collecting best practices in ongoing election 

administration practices as part of its clearinghouse mandate. As the only federal agency that 

focuses on the whole of elections, the EAC’s work in this area serves as a powerful central hub 

and single “go-to” location for election officials and voters as they work to improve the 

administration of and participate in in their elections. In FY 2022, The EAC continues to add 

best practices resources that focus on topics such as cybersecurity, contingency planning, 

absentee and mail voting, and other topics that were learned during the 2020 elections. Despite 

the unique circumstances of the 2020 elections there are still best practices and lessons that can 

be derived from the rapid adjustments election officials had to make during the primaries and 

general election. 

The EAC collects these best practices through hearings, in-person and virtual meetings, 

leveraging its advisory boards’ extensive knowledge and experience, commissioner led 

hearings, and an innovative annual contest. Through each of these means, the EAC learns from 

the diversity of approaches taken by the nation’s thousands of election jurisdictions and helps 

the rest of the nation learn from their peers. These election administration best practice areas 

regularly include:

• Poll worker recruitment, management, and training;

• Voter registration list management;

• Polling place management;

• Procurement of voting and voter registration systems;

• Data collection and management;

• Accessibility for voters with disabilities; and

• Access for voters with limited English proficiency.

The FY 2022 Request

For FY 2022, the EAC requests funds to meet its congressional mandates to manage VVSG and 

provide resources that help election officials and voters administer and participate in elections 

by doing the following:

• Continue to implement VVSG 2.0, which includes expanding efforts to support 

additional testing of voting systems and regular functionality review as technology 

advances. 
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• Initiate an election audit program that would assist election administrators with 

conducting post-election audit pilots, compliance audits and developing best guides. 

• Develop a Non-Voting Election Technology program that will provide guidance to

stakeholders to assist with risk mitigation, usability, and accessibility for all non-voting 

technology.

• Produce and publish best practice resources such as toolkits, videos, educational tools, 

blogs, and white papers on topics including developing and maintaining complex online 

registration databases, set up and use of accessible voting equipment, registering to vote, 

training and managing poll workers, and cybersecurity.

DISTRIBUTE

Strategic Goal 3: Improve the administration of U.S. elections through the distribution of 

EAC assistance and products. 

Goal 3 is led by the Communications Division with input from the Clearinghouse Division, 

Payments and Grants, Research, and Testing and Certification Divisions. Objectives and 

success indicators for the goal are as follows:

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the goal are to effectively, efficiently, and economically distribute federal 

resources to EAC stakeholders; serve as an expert on the administration of American elections 

to publicly share the distribution of EAC assistance; regularly distribute EAC products on 

timelines that align with stakeholder needs; and distribute EAC assistance through methods 

designed to facilitate stakeholder use. 

SUCCESS INDICATORS

The anticipated success indicators for the goal are usage of EAC assistance, which is

identifiable through feedback from EAC stakeholders; ability to design and distribute EAC 

products, which is identifiable through feedback from EAC staff and self-surveying metrics; 

ability to provide front-end guidance regarding the design of EAC products in Strategic Goal 2 

programs, which is identifiable through feedback and self-surveying metrics; and increased 

rates of reception of EAC products through designed distribution mediums.

Through its activities under this goal, the agency works to ensure that the resources and 

expertise of the EAC and the broader federal government are distributed effectively, efficiently, 

and responsibly. In the last two years, Congress has appropriated $1.2 billion of federal funds 

for the improvement of election administration including a focus on election security. Congress 

designated the EAC to administer, monitor and audit these funds. The election administration 

space continually moves at a faster pace as it is increasingly interconnected due to increased 

scrutiny from the media, and it is further connected because of national security efforts such as 

DHS’s Critical Infrastructure Framework. For these reasons, the EAC plans to continue 

extensive work under Strategic Goal 3: Distribute into FY 2021 in order to best serve the nation.
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a) Monitoring and Providing Technical Assistance on Federal Grant Funds to Ensure 

Improvements to the Administration of Federal Elections 

Under HAVA, the EAC is responsible for awarding, monitoring and providing technical 

assistance to state and territory election offices. This work expanded dramatically beginning in 

2018 with new appropriations for Election Security and CARES grants. The EAC’s grant 

portfolio expanded from about 100 grants to over 200. The EAC ensured these funds were 

distributed to states expeditiously and is mandated to oversee, monitor and provide technical 

assistance on their use. The EAC’s Inspector General also audits the states’ use of the funds, 

and EAC staff members provide technical assistance to the states as they design and implement 

their plans to use the federal funds. EAC staff members monitor the use of the funds by the 

states through semi-annual progress and financial reports.

For 2022, the EAC’s work to monitor and provide technical assistance to these grantees will 

continue. We will continue to oversee expenditure of the funds and must increase our capacity 

to conduct site visits as needed to specific states with new staff and develop more automated 

systems for better data collection and analysis.

b) The Distribution of EAC Clearinghouse Resources for the Improvement of Election 

Administration

The EAC is the federal government’s clearinghouse of election administration information. In 

the agency’s work under Strategic Goals 1: Analyze and 2: Build, the EAC researches election 

administration practices, information, and data and then builds clearinghouse resources that help 

states and election officials with this research. In this section of the agency’s efforts under 

Strategic Goal 3: Distribute, the EAC brings these resources to the stakeholders the agency is 

charged with assisting, election officials and states. The EAC does this in person, through its 

website, through the media upon request, and through other digital mediums such as email 

distribution. 

The nation’s thousands of semi-autonomous elections jurisdictions have different needs and 

consume information in different ways. The EAC has previously and will continue to reach out 

to its stakeholders in FY 2021 in person by attending state, regional, and national conferences to 

reach election officials that would not be reached otherwise. Often these in-person conferences 

are one of the most impactful continuing learning opportunities for local election officials. In 

2020, many events shifted to a virtual platform and that may continue. The EAC will continue 

to participate in these events whether virtual or in-person. During these events, the EAC talks 

about its resources and how they can help election officials and voters and distributes the 

resources in person. These resources are often white papers, slide decks, quick start guides, and 

access to videos. In 2020, the EAC Commissioners did a series of interviews with state and 

local election officials, experts and advocate on considerations and recommendations for the 

administration of elections during the pandemic. The information shared in these interviews 

paired with hearings and other forums helped develop extensive best practices for the 2020 

general election and beyond. The EAC Commissioners often take the lead on this in-person 

outreach effort, and the EAC staff members also regularly contribute to this effort as well.
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The EAC’s website is a popular resource for voters and election officials as they seek help in 

either participating in or improving elections. On the EAC’s website, the agency hosts 

downloadable copies of all of its current and legacy resources. The most popular set of 

resources on the EAC’s website is the agency’s resources for voters, particularly voter 

registration. Every day, voters and potential voters come to the EAC’s website to learn how to 

register to vote. The EAC’s website provides an easy-to-use map that helps voters navigate to 

resources for their state. Information like dates and deadlines, links and other updates requires 

regular updates to make sure the information provided is accurate. In 2020, the EAC added 

more information for registration and options to cast a ballot as well as information about 

becoming a poll worker. This request includes funds for continued maintenance of the EAC’s 

website and other similar digital outreach platforms.

The FY 2022 Request

For FY 2022, the EAC requests funds to distribute resources by doing the following:

• Continue to work closely and provide technical assistance to grant recipients that 

received congressionally appropriated funds.

• Improve Vote.gov by enhancing voter-facing information and engaging in promotional 

activities supporting anti-disinformation campaigns.

• Revamp the EAC’s website and streamline existing clearinghouse resources for election 

officials. 

OPERATE 

Strategic Goal 4: Ensure continued effective operation of EAC in order to achieve its 

goals while acting as good stewards of public funds.

Goal 4 is administered by the Executive Director with contributions from all EAC divisions.

Objectives and success indicators for the goal are as follows:

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the goal are to contribute positively and effectively to the broader federal 

community through active contribution and compliance; continue to build a skilled, diverse, and 

effective workforce that ensures the EAC has the human capital needed to achieve its mission; 

develop and continue to manage internal structures, tools that produce a culture of innovation

and a driven workforce where thought leaders thrive; and institutionalize an increased level of 

strategic and cross-agency thinking.

SUCCESS INDICATORS

The anticipated success indicators of the goal are the existence of inter-agency programs that 

provide unique value or generate efficiencies; continuing compliance with federal regulations 
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and mandates; and internal strategic planning capacity development at the division and 

programmatic levels.

The EAC is dedicated to functioning as a modern, strategic agency supported by qualified, 

innovative professionals who help the agency achieve its mission in an efficient and impactful 

manner. The four objectives of Strategic Goal 4 reflect the actions that are necessary for the 

EAC to achieve its goal of ensuring compliance with all applicable federal regulations while 

contributing to the broader federal government; continued development of its workforce in a 

strategic manner; regular assessment and improvement of operations, and the execution of 

strategic and cross-agency thinking.

a) Performance Management

Under Cap Goal 3 of the President’s Management Agenda, the EAC will actively manage the 

professional staff to produce a strategic workforce; improve employee and stakeholder 

satisfaction; and strengthen Strategic Goal 4 through aligning its workforce to meet mission 

needs. As the EAC looks to FY 2022, it will continue to create an environment that attracts, 

retains and engages a high performing diverse and inclusive workforce; to coordinate workforce 

planning activities to determine future needs, identify gaps and implement actions to close the 

gaps; to develop employees to meet evolving workforce demands and implement actions to 

close gaps; and to support EAC’s values, recognize employee contributions, and establish clear 

performance measures to achieve a high performance culture. 

b) Contributing Positively and Effectively to the Federal Government through Cross-Agency 

Initiatives

The EAC actively leads many of CISA’s national security efforts to secure the nation’s 

elections against foreign actors. In 2017, the EAC played a critical role in helping CISA to stand 

up its operational infrastructure for protecting elections infrastructure, and since that time the 

EAC has been a leading member of the Government Coordinating Council (GCC) and its 

executive committee. These groups are DHS committees, but the EAC leads in them as a 

subject matter expert to help ensure that the country is getting the best resources it can to defend 

its elections. 

This cooperative national security effort extends past the EAC’s efforts with CISA. The EAC 

also works with the FBI, ODNI, NIST, and representatives from the Department of Defense. 

Often other agencies reach out to the EAC for elections expertise to inform their decision 

making and resource development.

National security is not the only area where the EAC works alongside other agencies. The EAC 

works with the U.S. Postal Service to help serve voters who vote and receive information by 

mail. The EAC works with NIST to develop the EAC’s Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 

(VVSG). The EAC works with the Department of Defense to better serve military and overseas 

voters. As more agencies look to help provide resource for election administration, the EAC 

looks forward to acting as a key team-player to inform the broader federal government’s 

decision making in this crucial area.
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c) Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure & Cyber

The Office of the Chief Information Officer continues to explore new innovations to update and 

improve network services for security, availability, efficiency, and productivity to align with 

federal IT Modernization efforts under the President’s Management Agenda. EAC continues to 

find ways to effectively enhance federal information systems by continuing to modernize 

internal operations and procedures. EAC operates its own network infrastructure. The IT staff 

maintains personal computers, smart phones, and servers; provides software requested by EAC 

staff, remote access services, and an interactive voice response telephone system; performs 

vulnerability scans and remediates and updates security patches so that staff are equipped to 

perform work both on- and off-site in a secure environment. 

Cyber Access and Security Program

The EAC Cyber Access and Security Program provides cybersecurity support both to internal 

EAC operations and external customers. FISMA documentation and compliance functions as 

well as technical cybersecurity expertise are provided by the program in support of the EAC’s 

IT operations. Externally, the program provides training, best practices, and other materials to 

assist election officials, voters, and others improve the cybersecurity posture of their systems, 

practices, and procedures. The program works with other federal partners through the 

Government Coordinating Council to ensure that its products are focused and relevant and do 

not duplicate the efforts of other agencies.

The FY 2022 Request

For FY 2022, the EAC requests funds to work alongside other federal agencies to collectively 

secure the nation’s elections, serve voters domestically as well as abroad, serve military voters, 

strategically develop and manage its staff by doing the following: 

• Continue to build a diverse and inclusive workforce by promoting development through 

training and recognizing employee contributions through an established performance 

management framework.

• Further enhance the EAC’s IT security posture by implementing modernized systems 

and provide specialized training for internal IT staff.

• Organize and distribute cybersecurity information to assist stakeholders improve their 

internal operations. 

• Develop contingency planning that will include risk mitigation and crisis management to 

assist election offices with best practices, training, and resources to be prepared for

emergency and crisis situations.
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Status of Management Challenges

EAC’s Inspector General reported on two ongoing and two previous management challenges in 

October 2020: pandemic response, vacancies in key agency positions, elections systems as 

critical infrastructure, and records management. As noted in the IG report, the EAC successfully 

converted form primarily in-office duty locations to 100% telework while providing expanded 

programming and activities during COVID-19. In June 2020, the EAC filled the vacancies for 

Executive Director and General Counsel. Additionally, the EAC capitalized on additional 

funding to bolster staffing to respond to numerous management challenges, continues to work 

with Congress and collaborate with other Federal agencies to provide resources on election 

security, and has made strides towards completion of recommendations on records retention. 

Mandated Reports to Congress

EAC continues to provide an annual report of EAC activities to Congress by January 31 of each 

year for the preceding year ending September 30. The current report was released on January 

31, 2021.

EAC provides recommendations to improve election data collection and data provided to 

Congress in the biennial report on the Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS). The 

EAVS is released in the fall of the year after federal elections. The most updated report will be 

available June 2021.
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Attachment A

Office of the Inspector General

BACKGROUND

The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is a bipartisan Commission created 

and authorized by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Office of Inspector 

General (OIG) was established by HAVA and the Inspector General Act of 1978 (IG Act), as 

amended, to provide independent and objective reporting to EAC and Congress through its audit 

and investigative activities. 

Charged with the identification and prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse of Federal resources, 

the OIG strives to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness in EAC programs and 

operations. To accomplish this goal, OIG conducts regular audits of recipients of grant funds 

distributed by the EAC, annual audits of EAC’s operations, and periodic reviews and audits of 

EAC program operations and transactions. In addition, the OIG conducts investigations in 

response to allegations against EAC, its grant recipients, or other third parties involved in EAC 

programs.

THE BUDGET IN SUMMARY

OIG’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 request of $1,465,000 includes $4,395 as a transfer to the Council 

of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) in keeping with the provisions of the 

Inspector General Reform Act of 2008. The request also includes $21,250 for costs associated 

with training and professional development for OIG’s full-time employees.

OIG ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS

OIG primarily engages in three activities or projects: auditing grant programs, conducting 

investigations of grant recipients or other third parties related to EAC programs, and conducting 

audits and investigations of EAC programs and operations.

Auditing Grant Programs

Section 902 of HAVA gives EAC and other agencies making a grant or payment the authority 

to conduct audits of any recipients of funds. EAC is further authorized to conduct regular audits 

of funds distributed under HAVA. OIG conducts those audits on behalf of EAC. 

Until 2017, the OIG focused on auditing the grants distributed to states under Title II of HAVA. 

These grants represented the vast majority of grant funds distributed by the EAC through fiscal 

year 2010. 

In fiscal year 2018, EAC received an appropriation in the amount of $380 million in formula 

grants to states to improve the administration of elections for Federal office, including to 

enhance technology and make election security improvements. The OIG began auditing these.
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HAVA Election Security Fund grants in fiscal year 2019. In December 2020, the EAC received 

$425 million in appropriations for additional election security grant funding. In March 2020, 

under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the EAC received 

$400 million in grant funding to provide states with additional resources to prevent, prepare for, 

and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, for the 2020 Federal election cycle. 

Starting FY 2021, the OIG’s grant audits will include the states’ expended portions of the total 

$1.2 billion distributed since 2018, including any funds expended from the funding distributed 

through 2010. States are generally selected for audit based on the OIG’s risk assessment, 

evaluates a variety of factors, such as prior audit outcomes, funding received and spent, and 

other factors.

OIG’s program to ensure economy, efficiency and integrity in the use of funds is not limited to 

audits. OIG has also worked with the EAC to help educate states on the requirements that are 

associated with federal funding. 

In the coming fiscal years, OIG will continue to work to protect the federal investment in the 

electoral process and to promote economy, efficiency, and integrity in EAC grant programs 

through its audit and education programs.

Investigations

When allegations are made concerning the misappropriation of HAVA funds, the OIG is 

responsible for investigating those allegations. OIG has instituted a number of activities to 

improve and increase information available to EAC employees and the general public about 

how and when to make complaints of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. OIG operates a 

web site that includes the ability to file an online complaint. 

OIG does not currently employ an investigator. When issues arise that require investigation, 

OIG contracts with other government agencies for investigative services. 

Internal Audits

OIG is also responsible for conducting reviews, audits, and investigations of EAC’s internal 

policies, procedures, and actions. Over the past several fiscal years, OIG has conducted a 

number of internal reviews of EAC’s operations. These reports assess the efficiency of EAC’s 

operations and its compliance with governing statutes and regulations, including compliance 

with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), the Digital Accountability 

and Transparency (DATA) Act, and compliance with the Federal Travel Regulations. The OIG 

contracts with independent public accountants to conduct many of these audits, including the 

annual audit of the EAC financial statements.

OIG GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In FY 2022, OIG will continue to monitor spending by EAC grant recipients, conducting 

external investigations, and auditing and investigating EAC programs and operations as needed. 
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OIG is currently staffed by two full-time employees, the Inspector General and the Deputy 

Inspector General, and we anticipate hiring additional audit staff in 2021 to address the 

workload increases stemming from the increase in grant audits and other audit requirements. 

The current budget request includes funding for the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector 

General, and two additional staff members. The OIG will continue to use contract auditors in 

FY 2022 to supplement the capacity of its audit staff. 

GOAL 1: Protect the Federal investment in our electoral system.

The Federal government has made a sizable investment in the American electoral system. 

Congress had appropriated $3.25 billion in grant funds to the states for improvement of election 

infrastructure and processes through 2010 and, since 2018, an additional $1.2 billion to states 

for election security and pandemic response grants.

The OIG relies primarily on contract auditors to conduct audits of the grants to states. Staffing 

restrictions will require that we continue to rely on contractors to conduct the majority of the 

audits of grant recipients. OIG will continue to focus efforts on monitoring spending of the 

nearly $2.3 billion in grant funds held by the states as of the end of the third quarter of 2020. 

The audits will also cover amounts provided by the states in the form of matching funds totaling 

an additional $354 million.

GOAL 2: Promote economy, efficiency and integrity in EAC programs and operations.

A critical portion of the OIG mission is to promote economy and efficiency in government 

programs and operations and to detect and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in 

government programs and involving government resources. OIG fulfills this portion of its 

mission by conducting audits and evaluations of EAC operations, including contracting for an 

annual audit of financial statements and a review of compliance with the Federal Information 

Security Management Act (FISMA). While these two audits cover a large portion of EAC’s 

operations on an annual basis, OIG also conducts audits and evaluations of programs or specific 

EAC transactions as well as other statutorily-required audits. 

OIG is also charged with identifying and investigating waste, fraud and abuse in EAC programs 

and operations. To meet this requirement, OIG operates a hotline that allows people to make 

complaints via telephone, fax, email, mail, and on-line. Using the web site, the OIG reaches out 

to those persons involved with EAC and its programs, as well as those impacted by those 

programs to ensure they know how and where to make complaints of fraud, waste, abuse, or 

mismanagement.

OIG can help ensure integrity in EAC programs and operations by investigating alleged waste, 

fraud or abuse. Complaints from the hotline as well as information from audits and evaluations 

can identify potential civil or criminal wrongdoing. When OIG identifies potential wrongdoing, 

it can institute an investigation. OIG will continue to rely upon interagency agreements with 

other offices of Inspector General to conduct investigations of fraud, waste, abuse and 

mismanagement.
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GOAL 3: Effectively communicate successes and opportunities for improvement.

OIG uses various tools to communicate with the EAC, the Congress, and the general public 

concerning the status of EAC’s programs and operations as well as OIG’s activities in 

conducting audits, evaluations, inspections, and investigations. OIG issues reports following 

each formal engagement, regardless of type. Reports are disbursed to the entity that is the 

subject of the audit or evaluation, as well as the EAC and, when appropriate, oversight and 

appropriations committees of Congress. All Semiannual Reports to Congress, reports of Top 

Management Challenges, and reports that contain recommendations are posted to the EAC OIG 

website and to Oversight.gov.

OIG also produces two semi-annual reports to Congress in each fiscal year. Those reports 

summarize the audit, evaluation, inspection and investigation reports issued by OIG during the 

relevant six months. The documents also report on OIG activities by including statistics such as 

recommendations outstanding, the amount of costs that were questioned, as well as how much 

in federal funding could be put to better use.

OIG also uses technology to communicate with its stakeholders and the public. The OIG 

operates a web site where it makes information available concerning its operations, issued 

reports, rights and protections for whistleblowers, as well as an on-line form for making 

complaints of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. 

In FY 2022, OIG will continue its outreach efforts to keep EAC, Congress and the public 

informed of OIG’s activities as well as its reviews of EAC programs and operations.

GOAL 4: Effective and efficient OIG operations.

As OIG evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of EAC programs and operations, it is 

important for the OIG to ensure that its operations are effective and efficient, including having 

the needed policies, procedures and practices to underpin its operations. The current funding 

request includes salary and benefits for additional staff to assist the IG in covering the increased 

workload created by the new election security and pandemic response grant funding and to 

provide continuity in the OIG activity in the event the IG position would become vacant. The 

additional staffing also accounts for increases in expected training costs.

OIG will focus on providing a supportive working environment including providing 

professional education and training for its employees. All OIG employees will be required to 

meet the continuing education requirements applicable under the Generally Accepted 

Government Auditing Standards.

The OIG also participates in the CIGIE peer review program by conducting peer reviews of 

other OIGs and by undergoing triennial peer reviews as well. These peer reviews provide 

additional assurance that the work of the EAC OIG meets or exceeds the highest professional 

standards.
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OIG BUDGET REQUEST BY OBJECT CLASS

FY 2020

Enacted

FY 2021 

Enacted

FY 2022 

Request

Salaries and Benefits

11.1 Full-time permanent 259,803 407,221 540,545

11.9 Total personal compensation 259,803 407,221 540,545

12.1 Civilian personnel benefits 111,641 150,627 199,071

Contractual Services and Supplies

21 Travel, training and oversight 15,000 15,000 21,250

24 Printing and reproduction 1,000 1,000 -

25.2 Other services 553,842 507,746 639,285

25.3 Other purchases of goods and 

services from Government accounts

55,000 55,000 56,000

26 Supplies and materials 2,000 2,000 2,454

Acquisition of Assets -

31 Equipment 2,000 2,000 2,000

94 Financial Transfers 2,701 3,776 4,395

Total Program $1,038,987 $ 1,144,370 $ 1,465,000