U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Help America Vote Act - Election Security Program

FY23 Program Narrative Guidelines

Purpose and Use of Funds. The purpose of the program narrative is to provide U.S. citizens, 

Congress, the EAC and other election stakeholders with information about how your state will use 

these funds to improve the administration of elections for Federal office, including to enhance 

election technology and make election security improvements, as authorized under sections 101, 

103, and 104 of HAVA.

Consistent with the requirements of HAVA, states may use this funding to: replace voting 

equipment that only records a voter's intent electronically with equipment that utilizes a voterverified paper record; implement a post-election audit system that provides a high-level of 

confidence in the accuracy of the final vote tally; upgrade election-related computer systems to 

address cyber vulnerabilities identified through [Department of Homeland Security] or similar 

scans or assessments of existing election systems; facilitate cybersecurity training for the state 

chief election official's office and local election officials; implement established cybersecurity best 

practices for election systems; and fund other activities that will improve the security of elections 

for Federal office.

Consistent with provisions in HAVA Section 101, states have discretion upon expenditures within 

general categories. The EAC can answer specific questions about how the money may be utilized 

and will be capturing questions from states and sharing the answers in updated versions of the 

FAQ document on the EAC website. The activities can be an expansion of activities the state has 

underway with its previous Election Security HAVA grant or different, allowable activities under 

Section 101 of HAVA. 

EAC will publish the program narratives on its website. Information from annual state 

progress reports on implementing the activities described in the narrative will be 

consolidated and reported to Congress and the public by the EAC. EAC will use its 

clearinghouse, website, and other forms of communication to highlight how states and 

localities are planning to use the funds.

Program Narrative Instructions. The narrative should be one- to three-pages in length and 

describe how your state or territory (hereon ‘state’) plans to spend the FY23 HAVA Election

Security grant funds and required matching funds. The narrative should include the amount of 

your award and matching commitment and the timeframe in which you plan to use the funds. The 

narrative should describe both immediate improvements/activities that are underway and 

longer-term activities leading up to the 2024 election and beyond.

If you plan to use the funds to expand activities you are funding with the existing funds in your 

Election Security HAVA grant, be specific about how and in what ways these funds will expand 

those activities. If you plan to use the funds for other allowable activities under Section 101 of 

HAVA not already supported under the existing grant, be clear about how the activities are 

different from activities funded under the existing grant.

To ensure consistent reporting across states and localities, use the below program categories 

when developing your narrative. Use only the categories that are part of your planned activities 

and add them to this list as needed.
1. Voting Equipment 

2. Voting Processes

3. Voting Registration Systems

4. Election Auditing

5. Cyber and Physical Security

6. Voter Education

7. Accessibility 

8. Other (Provide Description)

Uploading to GrantSolutions

Follow the separate instructions provided by the EAC on submitting your completed program 

narrative via GrantSolutions.

EAC Submission Review. EAC will review each submission and provide feedback and technical 

assistance that may require revisions to the submission. EAC will confirm that the program 

narratives are sufficiently detailed to allow both stakeholders and federal auditors to understand 

the plan for spending the funds and track progress to know if the funds were used in an effective

manner. The proposed expenses must be reasonable, allocable, and allowable under HAVA and 2

CFR Part 200.