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2018 Chief FOIA Officer Report (Small-Volume Agency)

Chief FOIA Officer: Bryan Whitener

Director, National Clearinghouse on Elections

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is committed to making the 

fullest possible disclosure of records to the public, consistent with the rights of 

individuals to privacy, the rights of individuals and other entities with respect to 

trade secrets and commercial or financial information entitled to privileged and 

confidential treatment, and the need for the Commission to promote free internal 

policy deliberations and to pursue its official activities without undue disruption. In 

the interest of efficiency and economy, the Commission’s preference is to furnish 

records to requesters in electronic format, when possible.

Training

In fiscal year 2017, staff participated in the following training and meetings to 

promote EAC compliance with FOIA:

• DOJ Office of Information Policy meeting of Chief FOIA Officers Council 

and FOIA Counsels to develop recommendations to increase agency 

compliance and efficiency and sharing best practices and innovative 

approaches in light of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 amendments.

• Meetings and review of EAC information for the new National FOIA Portal.

• Records Management Training – Focusing on email as a record and 

complying with the provisions of OMB M-12-18. Specifically, managing 

email records of current and former employees in a manner that supports 

searching in response to information requests, including FOIA. Email 

communications training for all staff to be aware of the impact of FOIA 

requirements. 

Informing the Public

The EAC continuously engages and seeks to inform election officials, voters, 

lawmakers, and other stakeholders. Through media outreach, the EAC.gov 

website, social media, videos, reports and Sunshine Act Notices, the EAC 

provides relevant and timely information about the administration of elections. 

This includes:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300

Silver Spring, MD 20910

www.eac.gov
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Media Outreach – The EAC actively engages media through press releases, 

fact sheets, event advisories, and expert interviews. This outreach encompasses 

direct outreach to national, state and local press. 

EAC.gov – The commission launched a new website in March 2017. The EAC’s 

new online presence has allowed the Commission to better fulfill its HAVA 

mandate as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. 

The site better showcases our resources and is easier for election officials and 

voters to navigate. The EAC website receives more than a million visitors a year, 

including voters and election officials accessing the commission’s unparalleled 

clearinghouse of election and voting system information. The site also houses 

the EAC’s blog, serves as the hub for its media relations efforts and serves as 

the portal for FOIA and other requests. The website features a user-driven 

notification system that allows visitors to customize how they receive information

from the EAC.

Social Media – The EAC uses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to share 

information and interact with stakeholders. It also uses these platforms to amplify 

resources featured on its website and to share timely content such as 

livestreaming events and meetings. The commission also uses social media to 

highlight information shared by state and local election officials, as well as to 

engage these officials in real time. EAC’s Facebook following grew by 254 

percent in the last year and our Twitter following grew by over 135 percent,

broadening the audience of people in our online community who are among the 

first to know about new products and resources.

Videos – The EAC produces a variety of different video products to serve 

election officials, voters and other stakeholders. From streaming, capturing and 

posting public meetings and other important election-related gatherings to 

producing short webinars about timely topics and election best practices, the 

EAC’s produces video content that complements its vast online resources and 

provides increased public transparency. In fiscal year 2017, topics included 

cybersecurity, helping veterans with disabilities in the voting process, and best

practices for voter list maintenance. 

Sunshine Act Notices – In compliance with federal law, the EAC ensures that 

every portion of every public meeting, except as otherwise provided in § 9407.5, 

is open to public observation and that the public is given advance notice ahead of 

these gatherings. 

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