U.S. Election Assistance Commission

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200 

Washington, DC 20001 

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Freedom of Information Act Annual Report 

Fiscal Year 2023

Section I: Basic Information Regarding Report 

1. Interested parties with questions regarding this report may contact:

• Camden Kelliher, Acting General Counsel

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20001

(202) 360-3160

ckelliher@eac.gov

2. The report is available via the following link: Election Assistance Commission Website - FOIA

Reading Room

3. A copy of the Report in paper form can be obtained by contacting the EAC via phone, email, or

mail. Contact information for the EAC is found at https://www.eac.gov/contactuseac

Section II: Making a FOIA Request 

1. Please direct FOIA requests to the following:

• Seton Parsons, Associate Counsel

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20001

(202) 360-3160

sparsons@eac.gov

2. Please see below for a brief description of why some requests are not granted and an overview of

certain general categories of the agency's records to which the FOIA exemptions apply:

• Under the Freedom of Information Act, interested parties may request access to records

held by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. An important part of the EAC

response process is ensuring that certain protected information is not improperly

disclosed when records are provided. Such information is withheld if disclosure would

harm an interest protected by one of the nine exemptions provided by FOIA. EAC

records that are withheld from disclosure are typically protected by Exemptions 3, 4, 5,

and 6, which encompass privacy concerns, predecisional and deliberative processes, and

trade secrets. From a policy perspective, these exemptions are important to the mission

of the EAC to encourage open internal discussions on matters of policy to protect

against premature disclosure of proposed policies before formal adoption, and to protect

against public confusion that might result from disclosure of reasons and rationales that

were not ultimately grounds for an agency’s action.

3. Below please find a link to agency FOIA regulations, including the agency's fee schedule.

(NOTE: Agency FOIA Regulations were formerly listed at Section XI of the human-readable

version of the Report).

FOIA Reading Room | U.S. Election Assistance Commission (eac.gov)

Section III: Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions
Component Abbreviation Component Name

EAC U.S. Election Assistance Commission

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative 

level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level. 

b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of 

numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8. 

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end 

of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response. 

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, 

also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency 

that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA 

Report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency. 

e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a 

record to another agency or component within the same agency for its review because that other 

agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its 

review of the record, it responds back to the agency or component within the same agency that 

forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester. 

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the 

agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA. 

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records 

concerning another person (i.e., a "thirdparty" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular 

topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning 

themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such 

as non U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of 

both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also 

include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy 

Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to 

afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in 

responding to the requester are included in this Report. Additionally, a FOIA request includes records 

referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, 

include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations 

are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.) 

h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request. 

i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the 

records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a 

procedural reason, such as when no records could be located. 

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number 

is 7. 

k. Multi-Track Processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are 

placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more 

other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each 

track are processed on a first in/first out basis. 

i. Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis 

when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the 

statute and in agency regulations. 

ii. Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in 

its fastest (nonexpedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records 

requested. 
iii. Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in 

a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested. 

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose 

portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to 

otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason. 

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for 

which an agency has not taken final action in all respects. 

n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in 

accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be 

followed. 

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for 

which an agency has taken final action in all respects. 

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or 

administrative appeals. 

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request 

(ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

Descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information 

b. Exemption 2: information that is related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an 

agency 

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law 

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information 

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges 

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy 

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that 

the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement 

proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) 

could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) 

could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose 

techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose 

guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be 

expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual 

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions 

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells
3. Agency Component Abbreviations

Component Abbreviation Component Name

EAC U.S. Election Assistance Commission

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

Statute Type of Information

Withheld Case Citation Agency / 

Component

Number of 

Times

Relied upon

by Agency / 

Component

Total 

Number of

Times 

Relied upon

by Agency 

Overall

N/A N/A N/A EAC 0 0

V.A. FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED AND PENDING FOIA REQUESTS

Agency / Component

Number of Requests

Pending as of Start

of Fiscal Year

Number of

Requests Received

in Fiscal Year

Number of

Requests Processed

in Fiscal Year

Number of Requests

Pending as of End

of Fiscal Year

EAC 211 50 91 170

AGENCY OVERALL 211 50 91 170

V.B.(1). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- ALL PROCESSED REQUESTS

Agency / 

Compone

nt

Numb

er of 

Full 

Grants

Numb

er of 

Partial 

Grants 

/ 

Partial 

Denial

s

Number 

of Full 

Denials 

Based on 

Exemptio

ns

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions

No 

Recor

ds

All 

Records 

Referred 

to 

Another 

Compone

nt or 

Agency

Request 

Withdra

wn

FeeRelate

d 

Reaso

n

Records 

not 

Reasona

bly 

Describe

d

Improp

er FOIA 

Reques

t for 

Other 

Reason

Not 

Agen

cy 

Recor

d

Duplica

te 

Reques

t

Other 

*Expla

in in 

Chart 

Below

TOT

AL

EAC 7 77 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 91

AGENCY 

OVERALL 7 77 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 91

V.B.(2). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- "OTHER" REASONS FOR "FULL DENIALS BASED ON REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS"

Agency / 

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B(1)

Number of 

Times "Other" 

Reason Was 

Relied Upon

TOTAL

EAC N/A 0 0

AGENCY OVERALL 0

V.B.(3). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED

Agency / 

Component Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A)

Ex. 

7(B)

Ex. 

7(C)

Ex. 

7(D)

Ex. 

7(E)

Ex. 

7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9

EAC 0 0 0 74 0 77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 0 74 0 77 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VI.A. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component

Number of Appeals

Pending as of Start

of Fiscal Year

Number of

Appeals Received

in Fiscal Year

Number of

Appeals Processed

in Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals

Pending as of End

of Fiscal Year

EAC 0 6 6 0

AGENCY OVERALL 0 6 6 0

VI.B. DISPOSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS -- ALL PROCESSED APPEALS

Agency / Component Number Affirmed on 

Appeal

Number Partially 

Affirmed & Partially 

Reversed/Remanded on 

Appeal

Number Completely 

Reversed/Remanded on 

Appeal

Number of Appeals 

Closed for Other Reasons TOTAL

EAC 6 0 0 0 6

AGENCY OVERALL 6 0 0 0 6

VI.C.(1). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED

Agency / 

Component Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A)

Ex. 

7(B)

Ex. 

7(C)

Ex. 

7(D)

Ex. 

7(E)

Ex. 

7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9

EAC 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VI.C.(2). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS

Agency / 

Component

No 

Records

Records 

Referred 

at Initial 

Request 

Level

Request 

Withdrawn

FeeRelated 

Reason

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described

Improper 

Request 

for Other 

Reasons

Not 

Agency 

Record

Duplicate 

Request 

or 

Appeal

Request 

in 

Litigation

Appeal 

Based 

Solely on 

Denial of 

Request 

for 

Expedited 

Processing

Other 

*Explain 

in chart 

below

EAC 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0

VI.C.(3). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- "OTHER" REASONS

Agency / 

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2)

Number of Times 

"Other" Reason 

Was Relied Upon

TOTAL

EAC N/A 0 0

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0
VI.C.(4). RESPONSE TIME FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days

EAC 17 17 12 20

AGENCY OVERALL 17 17 12 20

VI.C.(5). TEN OLDEST PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / 

Component

10th 

Oldest 

Appeal

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Appeal

EAC

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Number of Days 

Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Number of Days 

Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

VII.A. FOIA REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR ALL PROCESSED PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / 

Component

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Lowest 

Number 

of Days

Highest 

Number 

of Days

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Lowest 

Number 

of Days

Highest 

Number 

of Days

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Lowest 

Number 

of Days

Highest 

Number 

of Days

EAC 318 274 1 640 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

AGENCY 

OVERALL 318 274 1 640 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

VII.B. PROCESSED REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR PERFECTED REQUESTS IN WHICH INFORMATION WAS GRANTED

Agency / 

Component

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Lowest 

Number 

of Days

Highest 

Number 

of Days

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Lowest 

Number 

of Days

Highest 

Number 

of Days

Median 

Number 

of Days

Average 

Number 

of Days

Lowest 

Number 

of Days

Highest 

Number 

of Days

EAC 318 286 1 640 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

AGENCY 

OVERALL 318 286 1 640 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

VII.C. PROCESSED SIMPLE REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency / 

Component

<1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-

100 

Days

101-

120 

Days

121-

140 

Days

141-

160 

Days

161-

180 

Days

181-

200 

Days

201-

300 

Days

301-

400 

Days

401+

Days TOTAL

EAC 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 74 2 90

AGENCY 

OVERALL 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 74 2 90
VII.C. PROCESSED COMPLEX REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency / 

Component

<1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-

100 

Days

101-

120 

Days

121-

140 

Days

141-

160 

Days

161-

180 

Days

181-

200 

Days

201-

300 

Days

301-

400 

Days

401+

Days TOTAL

EAC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AGENCY 

OVERALL

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VII.C. PROCESSED REQUESTS GRANTED EXPEDITED PROCESSING -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency / 

Component

<1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-

100 

Days

101-

120 

Days

121-

140 

Days

141-

160 

Days

161-

180 

Days

181-

200 

Days

201-

300 

Days

301-

400 

Days

401+

Days TOTAL

EAC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AGENCY 

OVERALL

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VII.D. PENDING REQUESTS -- ALL PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / 

Component

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Number 

Pending

Median 

Number of 

Days

Average 

Number of 

Days

Number 

Pending

Median 

Number of 

Days

Average 

Number of 

Days

Number 

Pending

Median 

Number of 

Days

Average 

Number of 

Days

EAC 142 327 401 16 562 624 12 575 696

AGENCY 

OVERALL 142 327 401 16 562 624 12 575 696

VII.E. PENDING REQUESTS -- TEN OLDEST PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / 

Componen

t

10th 

Oldest 

Request

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Request

EAC

Date of 

Receipt

8/13/202

0 

8/5/202

0 

8/5/202

0 

7/29/202

0 

7/4/202

0 

6/8/202

0 

5/28/202

0 

5/27/202

0 

5/23/202

0 

1/31/201

9 

Numbe

r of 

Days 

Pendin

g 774 774 780 780 785 802 820 827 828 1157

AGENCY 

OVERALL

Date of 

Receipt

8/13/202

0 

8/5/202

0 

8/5/202

0 

7/29/202

0 

7/4/202

0 

6/8/202

0 

5/28/202

0 

5/27/202

0 

5/23/202

0 

1/31/201

9 

Numbe

r of 

Days 

Pendin

g 774 774 780 780 785 802 820 827 828 1157

VIII.A. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING
Agency / Component Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of 

Days to Adjudicate

Average Number of 

Days to Adjudicate

Number 

Adjudicated Within 

Ten Calendar Days

EAC 0 2 8 8 2

AGENCY OVERALL 0 2 8 8 2

VIII.B. Requests for Fee Waiver

Agency / Component Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of Days 

to Adjudicate

Average Number of Days 

to Adjudicate

EAC 3 7 17 20

AGENCY OVERALL 3 7 17 20

IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs

Agency / Component

PERSONNEL COSTS

Number of "FullTime FOIA 

Employees"

Number of 

"Equivalent FullTime FOIA 

Employees"

Total Number 

of "Full-Time 

FOIA Staff"

Processing Costs LitigationRelated Costs Total Costs

EAC 0 1.50 1.50 23660.00 3675.00 27335.00

AGENCY OVERALL 0 1.50 1.50 23660.00 3675.00 27335.00

X. Fees Collected for Processing Requests

Agency / Component Total Amount of Fees 

Collected Percentage of Total Costs

EAC 0.00 0.0000

AGENCY OVERALL 0.00 0.0000

XI.A. Number of Times Subsection (C) Used

Agency / Component Number of Times Subsection Used

EAC 0

AGENCY OVERALL 0

XI.B. Number of Subsection (A)(2) Postings

Agency / Component Number of Records 

Posted by the FOIA Office

Number of Records 

Posted by Program 

Offices

EAC 6 35

AGENCY OVERALL 6 35

XII.A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals
Agency / Component

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of 

Fiscal Year

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of Fiscal 

Year

EAC 166 0

AGENCY OVERALL 166 0

XII.B. CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND PENDING CONSULTATIONS

Agency / Component

Number of Consultations 

Received from Other 

Agencies that were 

Pending at the Agency as 

of Start

of the Fiscal Year

Number of

Consultations Received

from Other Agencies 

During the Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations 

Received from Other 

Agencies that were 

Processed by the Agency 

During the Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations 

Received from Other 

Agencies that were 

Pending at the Agency as 

of End

of the Fiscal Year

EAC 0 1 0 1

AGENCY OVERALL 0 1 0 1

XII.C. CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS -- TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS RECEIVED FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND PENDING AT THE AGENCY

Agency / 

Component

10th Oldest 

Consultation 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Consultation

EAC

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Number of 

Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 207

AGENCY 

OVERALL

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Number of 

Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 207

XII.D.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- REQUESTS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED

Agency / Component

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED

Number Received During 

Fiscal Year from Last 

Year's Annual Report

Number Received During 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual Report

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report

EAC 195 50 72 91

AGENCY OVERALL 195 50 72 91

XII.D.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- BACKLOGGED REQUESTS

Agency / Component

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report

EAC 2 166

AGENCY OVERALL 2 166

XII.E.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- APPEALS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED
Agency / Component

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED

Number Received During 

Fiscal Year from Last 

Year's Annual Report

Number Received During 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual Report

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report

EAC 2 6 2 6

AGENCY OVERALL 2 6 2 6

XII.E.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- BACKLOGGED APPEALS

Agency / Component

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report

EAC 0 0

AGENCY OVERALL 0 0