2018 

Help America Vote Act

Election Security Grants

Award Packet

April 17, 2018
U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

1335 EAST-WEST HIGHWAY,SUITE 4300

SILVER SPRING, MD 20910

April 17, 2018

To: Chief State Election Officers

From: Mark Abbott, Election Assistance Commission

CC: State Election Directors

Re: 2018 HAVA Election Security Grants

This award packet contains all the information you need to draw down your 2018 HAVA Election 

Security Grant funds. EAC is making the funds available for immediate access and use, subject to the 

contingencies found in the attached Notice of Grant Award (NGA).

To access the funds you will need to:

1. Make sure your Unique Entity Identifier (formerly DUNS) number and SAM (System of 

Award Management) account are accurate and up-to-date.

A. Your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is issued by Dun and Bradstreet (D&B)

www.dnb.com and consists of nine digits. EAC will need to verify that you are 

using the correct UEI before payment can be issued.

B. Your SAM account must be renewed annually and must be active before a 

payment can be made. More information can be found at 

https://www.sam.gov/portal.

2. Send a letter via email from your Chief State Election Official to the EAC that includes the 

following information:

A. The amount of funds you are requesting—you may request your entire award at 

one time or make a series of partial drawdowns during the five-year performance 

period of the award. 

B. Certification that, per Section 101(c)(1)&(2) of HAVA, funds will be used in a 

manner that is consistent with the laws described in Section 906 of HAVA and that 

funds will not be used in a manner that is inconsistent with the requirements of 

Title III of HAVA.

C. Affirmation that you have reviewed and accept the terms of the award found in 

the Notice of Grant Award.

D. A timeline and brief description of how you will develop the 1-3 page project 

narrative/budget for how the funds will be used in your state/territory. Note: The 

actual narrative submission and budget are due to EAC no later than July 16, 2018.

E. Your UEI and the Certification Regarding Lobbying found at the end of this packet.

Note that an optional Template for this request letter is provided at www.eac.gov/2018-

hava-election-security-funds/

Tel: (301) 563-3919 www.eac.gov Fax: (301)734-3108

Toll free: 1 (866) 747-1471
Special Notes on Funds

1. EAC encourages all States to immediately draw down or begin drawing down their funds. 

States have five years, until March 22, 2023, to draw down the funds, after which time 

the funds will automatically be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

2. Expenses can be incurred against the grant from March 23, 2018 onward. Contact EAC’s 

grants office regarding reimbursement or matching credit for eligible expenses made 

prior to this date but after October 1, 2017. 

3. Matching funds must be made available by March 23, 2020. Cash match must be 

deposited into the State Election Account. In-kind match must be tracked in the same 

manner as cash contributions. Both cash and in-kind contributions should be reported 

under Grantee Share on the annual Standard Form 425 Federal Financial Report (SF-425),

which is due December 31 for the preceding October 1-September 30 period.

4. According to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141), the 

purpose of this award is to “improve the administration of elections for Federal office, 

including to enhance election technology and make election security improvements”. As 

such, using funds from this grant to pay for general operating expenses, historically paid 

for with non-federal funds, may not constitute an actual improvement to the 

administration of federal elections and may be questioned in a federal audit.

5. EAC will process all drawdown requests within 5 business days of receipt of the request.

6. EAC will hold a series of phone conferences and webinars over the summer to answer 

questions and support development of the required plans/budgets. Contact Mark 

Abbott at mabbott@EAC.gov with any questions you may have.

The following documents are included with this packet or can be found at the links below:

1. Notice of Grant Award

2. Submission Guidelines—Narrative and Budget

3. Required Federal Lobbying Certification

4. Budget Form at https://www.eac.gov/2018-hava-election-security-funds 

5. FAQs at https://www.eac.gov/2018-hava-election-security-funds 
2018 HAVA Election Security Grants

Program Narrative and Budget Submission Guidelines

Purpose. The purpose of the narrative statement and corresponding budget is to provide U.S. 

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

use these funds to, as described in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (P.L. 107-252),

“improve the administration of elections for Federal office, including to enhance election technology 

and make election security improvements”. States have express permission from EAC to pay for 

immediate election administration improvements ahead of the 2018 elections and prior to submission 

of this narrative and budget. This express permission applies only to non-construction expenditures.

The ninety-day period EAC is giving to States to develop this narrative and budget is designed to give 

you and your local voting jurisdictions time to assess your needs and develop robust plans to help 

secure voting systems and processes in upcoming elections. EAC will publish the narratives and 

accompanying budgets on its website. Information from annual state progress reports on 

implementing the activities described in the narratives/budgets will be consolidated and reported to 

Congress and the public by the EAC.

EAC encourages and will support states in developing high-quality submissions that reflect and 

highlight the important work you are doing to secure the vote in your state. States may use grant 

funds to host and/or participate in activities that can include, but are in no means limited to, the 

below activities as they develop their plans for using the funds:

1. Peer exchanges to share ideas and best practices

2. Coordination and collaboration with Department of Homeland Security (DHS), other federaland state-level agencies and other groups with missions or activities related to cyber-security

3. Convening local and state listening sessions or hearings

EAC will hold forums and 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 2018 HAVA Elections Security Grant 

Funds and required matching funds. The narrative should include the amount of your award and 

matching commitment and the timeframe (up to 5 years) in which you plan to use the funds. The 

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

be in place prior to the 2018 election and longer-term activities leading up to the 2020 election and 

beyond. 

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

your narrative statement and corresponding budget. Use only the categories that are part of your 

planned activities and add to this list as needed. We will publish examples of state and local activities 

as they are shared with the EAC through these submissions.

1. Voting Equipment Replacement and Upgrades

2. Election Auditing

3. Voting Registration Systems and Management

4. Cyber Vulnerabilities 

5. Training

6. Communication 

7. Additional categories to be identified by States

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Budget Narrative Instructions. The initial performance period for this award is five years, however 

you should submit a single budget that can be anywhere from 1 to 5 years in length depending on 

how quickly your state plans to spend the funds. For example, if your state will use the funds entirely 

on new equipment, the budget period would likely be only one year. 

The budget you submit should be line item by category. An electronic version of the budget form can 

be downloaded at: https://www.eac.gov/2018-hava-election-security-funds. Budget categories

include:

1. Personnel/Fringe Benefits

2. Equipment

3. Subgrants-Voting districts/counties

4. All Other Costs

5. Total Direct Costs

6. Indirect Costs

7. Training

The budget narrative should also include a breakdown by program category (e.g. Voting Equipment 

Replacement and Upgrades, Election Auditing, Cyber Vulnerabilities, etc.) and the approximate 

amount of funds that will be spent in each category. EAC will post a sample budget on its website to 

assist states in completing this portion of the application.

EAC Submission Review. Receipt of grant funds is not contingent on the content of each state’s 

narrative/budget submission. However, EAC will review each submission and provide feedback and 

technical assistance that may require revisions to the narrative and budget submission. EAC will use 

the following review criteria:

1. Are the proposed expenses reasonable, allocable and allowable under HAVA and appropriate 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars?

2. Are the budget and program narratives 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?

3. Are there activities or plans that could benefit from being informed by planned activities or 

experiences in another state?

EAC staff will offer feedback and technical assistance on each narrative/budget submitted.

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To: US Election Assistance Commission

Certification Regarding Lobbying

Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans, and Cooperative Agreements

The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that: (1) No Federal 

appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for 

influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of an agency, a Member of Congress, an 

officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the 

awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the 

entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or 

modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement. (2) If any funds other than 

Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to 

influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of 

Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, 

loan, or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, 

“Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” in accordance with its instructions.(3) The undersigned shall 

require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at 

all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative 

agreements) and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a 

material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or 

entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this 

transaction imposed by Section 1352, Title 31, U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required 

certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for 

each such failure.

 

 NAME TITLE ORGANIZATION

SIGNATURE DATE

ii) Recipient integrity and performance matters. If the total Federal share of the Federal award may 

include more than $500,000 over the period of performance, the Federal awarding agency must include 

the term and condition available in Appendix XII—Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity 

and Performance Matters. See also 2 C.F.R. §200.113 Mandatory disclosures.