Last Revised: 2/12/18

Strategic Plan

2018-2022

U.S. Election 

Assistance

Commission
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Executive Summary

Mission Statement

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission helps election 

officials improve the administration of elections and 

helps Americans participate in the voting process.

Vision Statement

A trusted, proactive, and responsive federal agency that 

helps election officials administer and voters participate 

in elections.

FY18-FY19 Agency Priority Goals

1. Contribute to the cyber-resilience of the American 

 election administration system.

2. Assist voters with disabilities as they participate in 

 the 2018 midterms.

3. Adopt a new version of the EAC’s Voluntary Voting 

 System Guidelines and educate EAC stakeholders 

 on the implementation of the new version.

4. Actively engage stakeholders and the 

 stakeholder groups that represent them.

The above Agency Priority Goals were designed to focus 

the agency’s work on certain priorities while working 

towards the Strategic Goals listed on the following page. 

These Priority Goals are subject to change on an annual 

basis, per the priority and objectives of each chairperson.
Strategic Goal 1 Analyze: Expand the nation’s comprehensive 

understanding of American election administration.

Objective 1.2

Help others contribute to 

the nation’s understanding 

of American election 

administration.

Objective 1.3

Leverage the EAC’s 

research to guide agency 

decision-making. 

Objective 1.1

Continue to expand the 

EAC’s existing in-depth 

understanding of the 

administration of American

elections.

Strategic Goals and Objectives

For the years of 2018 to 2022, the EAC has four strategic goals and 13 strategic objectives.

Strategic Goal 2 Build: Proactively and responsively create products 

that help election officials improve the administration of elections and help 

voters more easily participate in elections.

Objective 2.2

Responsively create resources that 

respond to newly arising needs of 

election officials and voters.

Objective 2.1

Continually create resources that 

help election officials improve the 

administration of elections and help 

voters participate in elections.

Strategic Goal 3 Distribute: Help election officials improve the 

administration of American elections through the distribution of EAC 

assistance and products.

Objective 3.1

Effectively and 

efficiently distribute 

federal resources to 

EAC stakeholders.

Objective 3.2

Serve as an 

expert on the 

administration of 

American elections.

Objective 3.3

Regularly distribute 

EAC products on 

timelines that align 

with stakeholder 

needs. 

Objective 3.4

Distribute EAC 

assistance through 

methods designed 

to facilitate 

stakeholder use.

Strategic Goal 4 Operate: Ensure continued effective operation of the 

EAC in order to achieve its goals while acting as good stewards of public funds.

Objective 4.1

Contribute positively

and effectively to th

federal government 

through active 

contribution and 

compliance.

e

Objective 4.2

Continue to build a 

skilled, diverse, and 

effective workforce 

that ensures the EAC

has the human capita

needed to achieve it

mission.

Objective 4.3

Develop and continue

to manage internal 

structures and tools 

that produce a culture

of innovation and a l 

driven workforce.

s 

Objective 4.4

Institutionalize an 

increased level of 

strategic and crossagency thinking.
Last Revised: 2/12/18
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Table of Contents

Executive Summary..............................................p. 2

Introduction.........................................................p. 6 

Agency Structure.................................................p. 7

Agency Organizational Chart...............................p. 8

Performance Management Framework..................p. 9

Implementation and Operation of This Plan...........p. 10 

Strategic Goal 1...................................................p. 11

Strategic Goal 2...................................................p. 17

Strategic Goal 3...................................................p. 25

Strategic Goal 4...................................................p. 32
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Introduction

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was created to help improve 

American election administration. Congress charged the EAC with a set of wideranging, yet distinct, duties that have since been expanded through subsequent 

legislation. In its earliest days, the agency’s work focused on helping states 

transition from punch-card and lever voting machines to more modern electronic 

vote tabulation systems. This work included disbursing and auditing more than 

$3 billion in federal funds and payments to states, establishing national voluntary 

voting system guidelines and a voting system testing program, creating a new 

national clearinghouse for election administration, and conducting research on 

election administration. 

Much has changed since the agency was created, and the EAC’s mission remains 

relevant and critical. Today, election technology is more advanced and complex. 

Election systems face cyber and physical threats from both nation-state actors and 

individuals. Election officials must be prepared to defend their systems against 

a broad spectrum of potential threats, as well as navigate the complexities that 

stem from other factors such as social media, increasing media attention, and 

increasingly fluctuating populations.

Today, the EAC carries its charge to assist and to support the nation’s election 

officials and the voters they serve. This work is essential to elections, which are the 

cornerstone of American democracy.
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Agency Structure

The EAC is a legislatively created independent federal Commission. It consists of 

four Commissioners, EAC professional staff, and the EAC’s Inspector General. The 

agency also has three federal advisory committees: the EAC Board of Advisors, the 

EAC Standards Board, and the EAC Technical Guidelines Development Committee. 

The EAC has two Congressional Oversight Committees, the U.S. House of 

Representatives Committee on House Administration and the U.S. Senate Rules 

and Administration Committee.

The EAC’s four Commissioners are Presidential appointees selected upon 

recommendation of Congressional leadership and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

The agency’s chartering legislation, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), provides for 

appointment of two Commissioners by the majority party and two Commissioners 

by the minority party. This helps to ensure the agency works to achieve its mission 

in a bi-partisan manner.

The EAC’s professional staff members possess expertise in election administration, 

election technology, management, communications, law, federal compliance, 

federal grant management, and finance. The size of the EAC’s professional staff has 

varied since the agency’s inception. At the time of this plan’s drafting, the EAC’s 

professional staff consisted of 28 full time staff members.

The EAC’s three advisory boards represent a broad set of EAC stakeholders, 

and each board makes distinct, statutorily mandated contributions to the EAC’s 

work. The EAC Standards Board consists of 55 state elections officials selected by 

their respective chief state election official and 55 local election officials selected 

through a process supervised by the chief state election official. The EAC Board 

of Advisors consists of 351

 members who represent specific interests in the field of 

elections. The EAC Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) assists 

the EAC in developing its Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. It is composed of 14 

members, selected for their technical and subject matter expertise.

The EAC’s organizational chart is located on the following page.

1

 HAVA prescribes 37 members to constitute the Board of Advisors. However, two member organizations 

merged in 2016 resulting in a revised membership of 35.
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Agency Organizational Chart
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Performance Management 

Framework

This strategic plan includes four strategic goals designed to drive the agency 

toward achieving its mission. Each strategic goal has been assigned one or two 

goal leads. The goal leads are Director-or-above-level EAC professional staff 

members who are charged with leading the agency’s efforts toward achieving 

an assigned strategic goal. The goal leads are selected based on commonality 

between the activities contained within a goal, the purpose of a goal, and the focus 

of the goal lead’s day-to-day work. 

The goal leads are charged with implementing agency strategies, coordinating 

processes, and working across divisions in order to achieve strategic goals. EAC 

leadership will support and manage through the goal leads to ensure achievement 

of the strategic objectives. Goal leads are provided flexibility to leverage their 

individual expertise in pursuing each strategy. EAC leadership’s role is to ensure 

appropriate progress is made and the necessary resources are provided to 

ensure success. As necessary, EAC leadership will work with goal leads to modify 

components of this plan to ensure the agency is consistently achieving its mission.
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Implementation and 

Operation of This Plan

The EAC will implement this plan in four stages. First, the agency will continue its 

current operations while building the new processes, procedures, and plans set 

forth in this document. Second, the agency will implement these new processes, 

procedures, and plans and begin to operate using these tools. Third, the agency 

will evaluate its processes, procedures, and the overall plan on an ongoing basis to 

measure effectiveness and efficiency. Fourth, the agency will make changes to the 

agency’s programs, processes, procedures, and this strategic plan when necessary. 
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Strategic Goal 1

Analyze

Expand the nation’s comprehensive understanding 

of American election administration.

Overview

When the EAC was created, it inherited the long-standing duty of 

analyzing American election administration in order to facilitate the federal 

government’s efforts to both help election officials better administer 

elections and help voters participate in elections. This is no small task. 

America does not have one singular election administration system. 

Instead, it has thousands of semi-autonomous, independently acting 

election jurisdictions, each with their own processes and procedures. To 

understand American election administration, one must understand the 

thousands of moving components, including the many items measured and 

tracked by the EAC. 

Today, the EAC’s analysis produces a number of different research 

products. Most notable is the Election Administration & Voting Survey 

(EAVS). The EAC’s EAVS is the most comprehensive survey of American 

election administration information, data, and practices in the country. 

The EAC publishes a new survey every two years following federal general 

elections. It contains more than one million data points, and it provides a 

national insight into how American elections are administered. 

In Goal 1 the EAC plans to conduct essential election administration 

research and to increase the value that the agency and its stakeholders 

receive from the EAVS by making the data more accessible and easy to use.

The EAC also recognizes the need to engage others in studying election 

administration. The EAC will work with outside researchers to ensure their 

work contributes to and expands both the federal government’s and the 

election administration community’s understanding of how elections are 

administered. 
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In the past the EAC has worked alongside public and private researchers to 

produce research and tools for election officials. In today’s time of expanded 

access to data and data processing power, the EAC will engage and partner with 

others to help the nation better understand its own elections. More detailed 

information about this objective and its strategies is listed in Objective 1.2 below.

The agency will also use the EAVS and other research to inform its strategic 

planning and to produce innovative products for election officials and voters. The 

EAVS was first administered in 2004 and has been conducted every two years 

since then. Each time the EAVS is completed, the agency gains more complete and 

accurate data, which allows it to track trends over a growing period of time and 

provide more insights into election administration. This work is discussed in greater 

detail in objective 1.3.

Objective 1.1

Continue to expand 

the EAC’s existing indepth understanding 

of the administration 

of American elections.

Objective 1.2

Help others contribute 

to the nation’s 

understanding of 

American election 

administration.

Objective 1.3

Leverage the EAC’s 

research to guide 

agency decisionmaking.

Goal Lead

Director of EAC’s Research &

Data Division

Contributing Divisions

• Communications

• Information Technology

Contributing Products and 

Programs

• EAC Election Administration 

and Voting Survey

• EAC’s Voting System Testing 

& Certification Program

• Ongoing research of election 

administration best practices

Indicators of Success

• Analysis of EAVS data that produces 

insights into U.S. election administration

• Successfully create tools to make both 

responding to the EAVS and analyzing 

EAVS data easier

• Increases in the number of entities 

providing information, research, and 

data related to American election 

administration

• Improvement in the quality of data 

collected related to American election 

administration

• Ability to use EAC research to better 

design EAC assistance
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Objective 1.1

Continue to expand the EAC’s existing 

in-depth understanding of the 

administration of American elections.

Congress mandates the EAC collect data relating to a number of election 

administration practices and research a variety of election administration issues. 

The EAC’s principle product in this area is the above-mentioned EAVS, first 

administered in 2004 and every two years since. It has improved in quality over 

time. Both the quality of data and the number of jurisdictions responding to the 

survey improved. This increase in quality has now begun to allow for trend analysis. 

The EAC published its most recent EAVS report in 2017. 

Congress also mandates the EAC administer a national clearinghouse of election 

administration practices and information. To administer this clearinghouse, the 

agency researches and collects information about practices of election officials 

and the needs of voters. This information often includes best practices, quick-start 

guides, and educational documents. The EAC then uses its website and other 

communications portals to publish and promote this information.

Through Objective 1.1, the EAC plans to continue this research and contribute to 

the nation’s understanding of the administration of American elections.

Examples of contributing EAC Tactics and Programs

• Leveraging EAVS data for subsequent research

• Collecting and analyzing best practices for administering elections

Strategy for achieving objective 1.1

To achieve this objective, the EAC will continue to conduct its congressionally 

mandated research, increase the extent that it capitalizes on existing research 

programs and products, and generate opportunities for new EAC-led research.
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The EAC has recently improved its capacity to leverage its existing research. This 

capacity will allow the agency to expand its ability to develop and produce new 

trend analysis. The Commission will then use this analysis to provide increasingly 

robust tools and guidance to election officials and voters as they administer and 

participate in the nation’s elections.

The EAC will also conduct non-EAVS research, which includes understanding 

best practices in election administration, the needs of voters, and methods for 

better serving election officials and voters. This information is regularly used by 

stakeholders. 

The last prong of the EAC’s strategy for this objective is to regularly evaluate the 

state of the EAC’s research to determine if the agency is conducting the most 

relevant research needed to achieve its mission. When necessary, evaluations 

can spur the creation of new research initiatives. In conducting this analysis and 

by responding to it through research plans, the EAC will help to ensure that the 

agency is collecting the data it needs to provide quality assistance to election 

officials, voters, and the federal government.

Objective 1.2

Help others contribute to the nation’s 

understanding of American election 

administration. 

Objective 1.2 is designed to drive the agency to increase the number of people 

and organizations that are able to conduct ongoing research about and contribute 

to the research of election administration.

The EAC has worked with public and private institutions to help others better 

understand election administration data and to produce cybersecurity readiness 

tools for election officials. The EAC also works with the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) to support research on election system usability 

and accessibility. This objective takes this work one step further. Through Objective 

1.2, the EAC plans to help others actively contribute to the national understanding 

through the provision of data, alignment of data formats, and easing the reporting 

burden on stakeholders.
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Strategy for achieving objective 1.2

To achieve Objective 1.2, the EAC plans to (1) build, maintain, and employ 

strategic partnerships with governmental and non-governmental entities and (2) 

make it easier for election officials to research and report meaningful election 

administration data on an ongoing basis. 

Developing and maintaining partnerships is a crucial component of working with 

others to contribute to the national understanding of elections. Through these 

partnerships, the agency can coordinate research efforts, capitalize on its national 

perspective, and use its relationships with election officials to help the research 

community produce more analysis.

The EAC also plans to help election officials find easier and more efficient ways to 

collect and report data. Potential tactics for this work include the use of common 

data formats, as well as the building and deployment of tools that make it easier 

to report data. These tools may include an online portal for collecting EAVS 

information or linked systems that automatically report EAVS data.

Objective 1.3

Leverage the EAC’s research to guide 

agency decision-making.

Through this objective, the EAC will regularly communicate with its stakeholders 

and employ the EAVS and other research to identify trends in stakeholders’ needs 

and activities. The EAC will use these trends to inform the agency’s strategic 

planning and product development decision-making, as well as better forecast 

needs of election officials and voters. 

Strategy for achieving objective 1.3

To achieve this objective, the EAC will learn about its stakeholders in four ways 

and then use this knowledge to inform the agency’s decision-making. First, the 

EAC plans to utilize its internal expertise of election administration, as well as 

its engagement with external stakeholders, to forecast likely stakeholder needs. 
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Through its human capital planning efforts, the EAC has and will continue to recruit 

employees with experience in administering elections. The agency plans to draw 

on this resource and work to use its human capital planning efforts to ensure 

this competency is sustained and further developed. Recognizing that election 

administration is ever-changing, the EAC also plans to supplement its internal 

knowledge by continuing its active stakeholder engagement strategy. 

Second, the EAC will work with its three advisory boards to gather information 

about its stakeholders’ needs. The advisory boards are comprised of election 

officials, representatives of organizations that reflect stakeholder interests, and 

technical experts from fields relating to election administration and technology. 

Third, the EAC will further its efforts to engage its stakeholders in person. Upon 

their appointment, the current EAC Commissioners made it a top priority to 

embark on a national listening tour to understand the needs of election officials 

and voters around the country. The EAC will engage with and listen to its 

stakeholders to obtain a true understanding of their needs.

Fourth, the EAC will apply its ability to analyze trends in the EAVS survey and 

employ new research tools to understand stakeholder needs and inform the 

agency’s strategic and operational planning. This understanding will inform the 

agency of the likely needs of its stakeholders, which products the agency should 

produce and share, and where the agency should deploy resources. 

The EAC will use the knowledge of its stakeholders and their needs to align the 

agency’s processes and planning efforts in a way that helps the agency produce 

assistance that responds to stakeholder needs. One tactic the agency started 

in 2017 was to create a monthly thematic focus for the agency’s public-facing 

work aligned with election officials’ activities and current needs. For example, 

the agency plans to help with poll worker recruitment. Election officials must 

continually recruit and train poll workers, and they generally do this in the spring 

months in advance of a general or mid-term federal election. Because election 

officials will administer a midterm election in 2018, the EAC will produce revised 

guidance for election officials that provides them with best practices in poll worker 

recruitment and training in April of 2018.

While some topics lend themselves to a “monthly” focus, there are other issues 

that trend throughout an election year. For example, cybersecurity is currently at 

the forefront of much of the work that the EAC does for its stakeholders and an 

agency Priority Goal for FY 2018 – FY 2019. In 2016, election officials faced a new 

adversary. Under this plan, the EAC plans to emphasize cybersecurity across its 

programmatic activities so long as it is a pressing need of its stakeholders. 
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Strategic Goal 2

Build

Proactively and responsively create products that help 

election officials improve the administration of elections 

and help voters more easily participate in elections

Overview

Through HAVA, Congress charged the EAC with serving its stakeholders 

through four activities: (1) creating and managing the nation’s clearinghouse 

of information on election administration data and practices, (2) creating 

national guidelines for voting systems, (3) creating and administering 

a testing program through which manufacturers may have their voting 

systems tested, certified, and de-certified to those guidelines, and (4) 

researching election administration practices and information. While these 

efforts are congressionally mandated, the EAC understands that its work is 

most impactful when it is designed with specific stakeholders and their use 

of the products in mind. Strategic Goal 2 reflects the agency’s dedication 

to continually achieving its mission by producing assistance that measurably 

helps to improve America’s elections. 

The EAC will provide this assistance through four types of products for its 

stakeholders: (1) updated voluntary voting system guidelines (VVSG) that 

meet the needs of both elections officials and voters; (2) a voting system 

testing program that provides assurance and confidence that all voting 

systems that receive EAC certification conform to the applicable version 

of the VVSG; (3) research products that help election officials improve 

the administration of their elections through data, information, and bestpractices; and (4) a national voter registration form for registering to vote 

in federal elections. Each category aims to meet a unique EAC stakeholder 

need in a way that adds value and improves the election process.

HAVA mandates that the EAC produce the VVSG and certify voting 

systems that conform to these standards and decertify voting systems that 
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no longer meet these standards. Voting systems are used to define ballots, cast 

and count votes, report or display election results, and maintain and produce any 

audit trail information. Voters expect and election officials must provide voting 

systems that are accurate, auditable, secure, usable, and accessible regardless of 

an individual voter’s abilities or English proficiency. While the EAC’s voting system 

testing and certification program is a voluntary program, most states use it or the 

VVSG in some way prior to procuring a voting system. More information about this 

program and how the EAC plans to use it in the coming years is found in Objective 

2.1 and Objective 2.1’s strategy.

The EAC’s third type of product - the agency’s work to find commonality, identify 

best practices, anticipate needs, and drill down on policies and procedures that 

data show improve elections - gives jurisdictions access to a robust clearinghouse 

of election administration information and ideas. These resources aim to make it 

unnecessary for election officials to “reinvent the wheel” as they research the best 

ways to serve their voters. 

EAC products address two types of stakeholder needs, predictable and 

unforeseen. Predictable needs are needs that election officials and voters 

experience on a recurring basis. Examples include poll worker management and 

voter registration list management. These needs are generally consistent for 

EAC stakeholders. The Commission will use the understanding it develops under 

Strategic Goal 1 to identify these needs and produce helpful products in advance 

of their occurrence. These products are discussed in more detail under Objective 

2.1. 

EAC stakeholders also have unforeseen needs that cannot be forecasted by 

analyzing trends in data. Examples of unforeseen needs are responses to natural 

disasters and requirements created by new legislation. To address these needs and 

help assure EAC stakeholders that the agency will help them when these needs 

arise, the EAC will create and follow repeatable procedures for creating products 

that meet these needs. In this way, a stakeholder can have confidence that when an 

unpredicted event affects American election administration, the EAC will be able 

to help stakeholders navigate the situation using assistance that is available on a 

predictable timeline. 
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Objective 2.1

Continually create resources that 

help election officials improve the 

administration of elections and 

help voters participate in elections.

Objective 2.2

Responsively create 

resources that respond 

to newly arising needs of 

election officials and voters.

Goal Leads

• Director of EAC’s Research & 

Data Division

• Director of EAC’s Testing and 

Certification Program

Contributing Divisions

• Communications

• Finance

• Information Technology

Indicators of Success

• The production of designed 

assistance products created to fulfill 

specific needs of EAC stakeholders

• Feedback from stakeholders 

indicating ease of use and 

implementation

• Rates of use for products by the 

stakeholder group that the product 

was intended to serve

Examples of Contributing

Products and Programs:

• EAC’s Voting System Testing & 

Certification Program

• EAC’s Voluntary Voting System 

Guidelines

• EAC’s Election Administration 

Clearinghouse

• EAC’s Election Administration and 

Voting Survey

• EAC’s Election Officials as IT manager 

classes

• EAC’s guidance products for 

managing election technology.

• National Voter Registration Form

• EAC’s Payments & Grants Program
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Objective 2.1

Continually create resources that 

help election officials improve the 

administration of elections and help 

voters participate in elections.

Some of the EAC’s stakeholders’ needs are reasonably predictable. Since federal 

elections generally follow consistent cycles, the EAC can look to its research 

and stakeholders to identify these needs in advance. An example is the above 

mentioned poll worker recruitment and management as a consistent need of 

election officials. Other predictable needs include maintenance of voter rolls, 

procurement of election technology, cybersecurity, and voter registration. Voters 

also have consistent needs, such as knowledge of the voter registration process, 

understanding of accessibility laws, contact information for their local and state 

election officials, and education on the voting process. The EAC has long provided 

support on these topics through its congressional mandates. This has included 

election administration guidance documents, roundtable discussions about best 

practices, webinars, publication of research on election administration, and 

dissemination of voting rights information cards to voters. 

The EAC also provides a critical service to the nation’s election officials by 

providing resources that assist with the procurement and deployment of election 

systems, which is one of the most consistent needs of American elections officials. 

This assistance is driven by the EAC’s Testing and Certification Program, including 

the EAC’s VVSG, testing laboratory accreditation process, and the voting system 

testing and certification program.

The VVSG is the only national set of government guidelines for testing and 

certifying voting systems. It sets minimum standards for voting system 

functionality, security, usability and accessibility. Manufacturers build voting 

systems to these standards and then submit them to EAC accredited labs for 

testing. The labs test the systems against the requirements of the VVSG to ensure 

that submitted systems conform to the VVSG. The EAC oversees this testing 

process and ultimately certifies voting systems that meet the guidelines. 
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Through the agency’s pursuit of Objective 2.1, the EAC plans to consistently 

produce assistance for its stakeholders as they meet their recurring needs. 

Examples of relevant EAC Products and Programs

• EAC’s Voting System Testing & Certification 

• Critical Infrastructure Educational Information

• Introduction to Information Technology for Election Officials 

Classes

Strategy for achieving objective 2.1

To achieve Objective 2.1, the EAC will employ the insight that it generates under 

Objective 1.3 to help identify products that will be needed by EAC stakeholders. 

Next, the agency will use this information to build products that will help its 

stakeholders administer and participate in elections. The types of products for 

voters and election officials are detailed below.

Products for Voters

The EAC plans to continue to assist voters, including those facing unique 

challenges such as voters with disabilities, voters with limited English proficiency, 

and voters who are in the military or who live overseas. In fact, the EAC has made 

serving voters with disabilities one of its Agency Priority Goals for FY 2018 – FY 

2019. In the past, the EAC has produced cards that list the rights of voters with 

disabilities in braille and other accessible formats, created forums for voters with 

disabilities to voice their needs and contribute to the voluntary voting system 

guidelines, and conducted language access summits where the EAC convened 

experts in accessibility for voters with limited English proficiency. 

Products for Election Officials

The EAC will continue to create products that help election officials administer 

their elections. While stakeholder engagement and data-driven decision making, 

detailed in Objective 1.3, will guide the products produced by the EAC for election 

officials, the agency plans to focus on: 

• Voting system testing; 

• Operational and planning guidance for election officials;

• Cybersecurity;

• Highlighting best practices using the EAC’s Clearies Awards; 

• Leveraging EAVS data to create more products;

• Improving quality of and increasing the number of products related to voterfacing election information;
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 22

• Exploring the possibility of integrating outside datasets into the EAC’s work 

products;

• Improving the usability and accessibility of EAVS data;

• Producing Quality Management Audit reports on the voting system 

manufacturing and testing processes;

• Producing Test Plans, Test Reports, and Certificate of Conformance for voting 

systems that conform to the applicable version of the VVSG;

• Producing election system user guides and training materials for election 

officials and voters to better understand the technology used in election 

administration; and

• Producing best practices on election technology management, including 

procurement, security, and critical infrastructure.

Cybersecurity Further Detailed

As mentioned above, the EAC identifies cybersecurity readiness as a predictable 

and consistent need and an Agency Priority Goal for FY 2018 – FY 2019. The EAC 

plans to emphasize it across its programmatic activities. Among the agency’s 

planned activities to meet this need are creating and distributing cybersecurity 

best practices, continuing to participate in and lead the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Critical Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council, ensuring 

cybersecurity’s representation in the EAC’s VVSG, and facilitating cybersecurity 

information sharing.

Voting System Testing and Certification Further Detailed

As the agency looks to the next four years, it will continue providing its voting 

system testing and certification program. The EAC also will work to update and 

improve the VVSG to ensure that it provides a modern set of principles and 

guidelines that are reflective of the current state of technology and needs of 

election officials. Updating the VVSG is one of the EAC’s Agency Priority Goals for 

FY 2018 – FY 2019.

In 2017, the EAC submitted the draft VVSG 2.0, the newest version of the VVSG, 

to the agency’s advisory boards. The structure and the content of this set of 

guidelines are reflective of the ever-changing nature of technology. The next step 

is for the EAC advisory boards and the public to provide comment on the draft 

VVSG 2.0. Once this process is completed, the Commissioners will vote on the new 

guidelines. If approved, the EAC will shift resources to educating election officials 

and voting system manufacturers about the contents of the VVSG requirements, 

as well as re-accrediting labs to test voting systems against VVSG 2.0. This 

educational effort will be on-going as manufacturers develop new systems to 

the new standard and then submit their voting systems for testing. Guidelines 
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flexible enough to allow for technological innovation are crucial for allowing 

advancements in technology to filter down into election systems, and the EAC is 

dedicated to ensuring its Testing and Certification Program promotes innovation.

Objective 2.2

Responsively create resources that 

respond to newly arising needs of 

election officials and voters.

Election administration is a fast-moving field with strict deadlines. Elections happen 

on statutorily mandated timelines, and the EAC’s election official stakeholders 

must meet these deadlines regardless of outside events that may impact their 

operations. For example, when Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast in 2012, election 

officials still needed to administer their elections and were allotted no flexibility 

in scheduling the election. In circumstances such as this, the EAC must be able to 

support its stakeholders in a predictable manner so that they can have a trusted, 

federal resource on their side. 

Relevant EAC Divisions and Programs

• EAC’s Voting System Testing & Certification Program

• Introduction to Information Technology for Election 

Officials Classes

Strategy for achieving objective 2.2

To achieve this objective, the EAC plans to supply predictable support through 

repeatable procedures and processes. The EAC will create and follow these 

procedures and processes when addressing an unpredicted need. Election officials 

will be able to have confidence that the EAC can and will address arising issues 

within a predictable time period after a need occurs and will provide valuable 

assistance.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 24

To create the process, the agency will weigh its operational capacity, the 

consistent financial and human capital requirements of ongoing activities, and the 

typical stakeholder need for expedience in these situations. After weighing this 

information, the EAC will design a process that it can use to produce assistance 

when responding to newly arising and unpredictable needs. Then the EAC will 

create assistance products using this process. The agency will regularly analyze 

the efficacy of this approach and adapt the process when feedback indicates that 

improvement could be made to better serve the agency’s stakeholders.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 25

Strategic Goal 3

Distribute

Help election officials improve the administration of 

American elections through the distribution of EAC 

assistance and products.

Overview

When the EAC was created, grant disbursement was one of the 

Commission’s most impactful programs. Today, the agency still administers, 

manages, and audits grants and payments to the states, and the agency 

also distributes the resources that are produced under Strategic Goal 2 

to its stakeholders. In addition, the agency is seen as a federal authority 

on American elections by the media, other components of the federal 

government, EAC stakeholders, and international election organizations. 

In this role, the agency uses its expertise to bring data-driven analysis to 

conversations about issues affecting elections and the products produced 

under Strategic Goal 2 to its stakeholders.

To meet this goal, the EAC plans to analyze its stakeholders’ preferred 

mediums and methods for receiving information and resources. The EAC 

will then use this information to guide and design the agency’s products, 

identified in Strategic Goal 2. Success is achieved when the format of the 

EAC’s products matches the preferences of the EAC’s stakeholders, who 

are able to use these resources to improve the administration of elections 

or their own voter experience. 

In order to accomplish effective distribution of EAC assistance, there are 

four objectives that the EAC plans to pursue. First, the EAC will effectively 

and efficiently distribute existing federal resources to its stakeholders. 

Second, the EAC will continue to serve as an expert in the administration of 

American elections in order to facilitate the distribution of EAC assistance. 

Third, the EAC will continually distribute EAC assistance products on 

timelines that align with stakeholder needs. Fourth, the EAC plans to 
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 26

distribute assistance through methods designed to facilitate stakeholder uses.

Distribution of assistance is core to the mission of the EAC, and it will long be a 

significant portion of the agency’s activities. Through the pursuit of these four 

objectives and Strategic Goal 3, the agency plans to improve the efficacy of this 

long-standing responsibility of the agency and bring more value to election officials 

and voters.

Objective 3.1

Effectively and efficiently 

distribute federal resources to EAC 

stakeholders.

Objective 3.2

Serve as an expert on the 

administration of American 

elections.

Objective 3.3

Regularly distribute EAC products 

on timelines that align with 

stakeholders’ needs.

Objective 3.4

Distribute EAC assistance 

through methods designed 

to facilitate stakeholder use.

Goal Lead

Director of EAC’s Communications 

Division

Contributing Divisions

• Research & Data

• Information Technology

• Finance

Contributing Products and 

Programs

• EAC’s Voting System Testing 

& Certification Program

• EAC’s Election Administration 

Clearinghouse

• EAC’s Payments & Grants 

Program

Indicators of Success

• Usage of EAC assistance - Identifiable 

through feedback from EAC 

stakeholders

• Ability to design and distribute EAC 

products - Identifiable through feedback 

from EAC staff and self-surveying 

metrics

• Ability of the Communications and 

Public Affairs Division to provide frontend guidance regarding the design 

of EAC products in Strategic Goal 2 

programs - Identifiable through feedback 

and self-surveying metrics

• Increased rates of reception of EAC 

products through designed distribution 

mediums
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 27

Objective 3.1

Effectively and efficiently distribute 

federal resources to EAC stakeholders.

The EAC’s mission requires it to distribute a broad spectrum of resources to 

stakeholders on an ongoing basis. This distribution has historically been one of 

the most impactful EAC activities. Through Strategic Goal 3 and Objective 3.1, 

the EAC commits to continuing this distribution and conducting it in an effective 

and efficient manner. The EAC will consistently distribute available federal funding 

for the administration of elections, assistance products designed and built under 

Strategic Goal 2, resources produced by other federal entities that may help EAC 

stakeholders, current research and information regarding election administration, 

and information about the EAC as an agency that works to improve election 

administration in the United States.

Examples of contributing EAC Tactics and Programs

• EAC Clearinghouse Program

• EAC Payments & Grants Program 

• EAC.gov

• EAC blogs and white papers

Strategy for achieving objective 3.1

The EAC plans to distribute resources to its stakeholders both directly and 

indirectly. The EAC’s direct distribution of resources to stakeholders will focus 

primarily on two types of federal resources. The first is federally allocated grants 

and payments to states for the administration of elections. The second is EAC 

assistance products designed to help the agency’s stakeholders understand and 

improve the administration of elections in the U.S. 

For the first type of resource, the EAC plans to continue to use its existing Grants 
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 28

Division to disburse the federal funds to states. This division has a history of 

successful disbursement and auditing of these funds, and the agency plans to 

continue its past efforts and methodologies. 

To distribute the EAC’s assistance products, the EAC plans to distribute messages 

and products directly to its stakeholders. The EAC will provide election officials 

and voters with an opportunity to sign-up for a newsletter, mailing list, or alert 

notifications. Through these channels, the EAC will distribute updates and new 

resources by means that allow the agency to measure open rates and impact. As 

always, in its role as the nation’s clearinghouse on election administration, the EAC 

will also distribute assistance, prior conducted research, and help the agency’s 

stakeholders upon their request.

To indirectly distribute EAC resources to agency stakeholders, the agency plans to 

use channels that the stakeholders prefer. The majority of the tactics for fulfilling 

this strategy will involve the use of technology, the press, and the agency’s 

advisory boards. The EAC will post new products to its website in order to provide 

a central clearinghouse of EAC’s information as required in HAVA. The agency will 

seek to distribute these products on other platforms, such as a listserve for local 

election officials or via an outside group. The EAC will also disseminate resources 

to its advisory board members, who represent a large portion of American 

election administration interests. This will enable the board members to voluntarily 

pass the resources along to their networks and serve as key validators for the 

agency, enhancing the Commission’s ability to penetrate local markets that may 

be skeptical of federal assistance. The goal is to identify key audiences, figure 

out where they prefer to get their information, and tap into that channel as a key 

method of distributing agency resources.

Distribution of assistance is critical to the EAC’s mission because the EAC cannot 

assist with the improvement of American election administration if its resources 

are not utilized. In pursuing Objective 3.1, the EAC will distribute resources that 

help American election administrators and voters, and it will identify distribution 

methods that enhance stakeholder reach and receptivity to these products. 
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 29

Objective 3.2

Serve as an expert on the 

administration of American elections.

Objective 3.2 is designed to drive the agency to exercise its expertise more 

efficiently to reach its stakeholders. Speaking opportunities are one of the best 

ways to do this. Beyond media interviews and other publicity, the EAC seeks 

to have a meaningful presence at election-focused and non-election focused 

conferences. The agency’s stakeholders are naturally drawn to these venues and 

are therefore a captive audience for the agency’s experts. The agency will use 

these opportunities to gain feedback from its stakeholders, as well as to highlight 

available agency resources.

The EAC will also further its work to have a consistent presence in media outlets, 

opinion pages, and other mediums known to shape the perceptions and knowledge 

of stakeholders. The EAC will seek creative opportunities to expand the agency’s 

reach, including the dissemination of guest blogs authored by external experts and 

the publication of academic journal articles that can inform research on election 

issues.

Indicators of Objective 3.2 Success

• Increases in the numbers of invitations for EAC Commissioners 

and staff to speak at and participate in venues and mediums 

where the agency’s stakeholders are.

• Increases in the number of times the EAC or EAC materials are 

featured in media outlets that agency stakeholders use.

Strategy for achieving objective 3.2

The strategy for achieving Objective 3.2 is two-fold. First, the agency will seek 

to understand its stakeholders’ preferred mediums and venues for consuming 

information. In order to generate this understanding, the EAC will employ its 
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 30

existing research capacity, identified under Strategic Goal 1, and it will generate 

new research as necessary.

After the agency has generated this understanding, the EAC’s Communications 

Division will deploy a coordinated and consistent communications plan that targets 

those who control content for these mediums. When issues arise that are relevant 

to the agency, this department will work through the relationships generated under 

the new plan to distribute accurate and timely information. In addition, when the 

EAC believes it can add value to other organizations’ work, its communications and 

public affairs team will evaluate those opportunities and mobilize internal resources 

to maximize the agency’s potential contributions.

Objective 3.3

Regularly distribute EAC products on 

timelines that align with stakeholders 

needs.

The timely distribution of EAC products is essential to achieving the agency’s 

mission. For predictable resources, the EAC will be guided by the elections 

calendar and anticipated needs identified under Goal 2. For agency products 

designed to meet unpredicted and newly arising needs, work will be carried out 

in a method consistent with rapid-response efforts. The agency is confident that 

coupling well-timed distribution with efficient and impactful communications that 

succinctly convey necessary assistance will help EAC stakeholders.

Strategy for achieving objective 3.3

The EAC’s Communications Division will lead work to achieve this objective based 

on the following directives:

• Analyze the landscape of how stakeholders consume information and their 

preferred mediums

• Produce and release materials based on the predictable election cycle calendar 

and in consultation with EAC researchers

• Deploy “rapid response” materials to meet arising, unpredictable needs
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 31

Objective 3.4

Distribute EAC assistance though 

methods designed to facilitate 

stakeholder use. 

The thousands of election officials and millions of voters that constitute the EAC’s 

stakeholders are best assisted when they are not viewed as monoliths. Election 

officials and voters vary in location as much as they vary in needs and preferences. 

To best communicate with and distribute EAC resources to its stakeholders, the 

Commission plans to segment its audiences, craft products to meet their specific, 

diverse needs, as well as distribute agency products using each segment’s 

preferred medium.

Indicators of Objective 3.4 Success

• Stakeholder feedback

• Metrics driven consumption analysis

Strategy for achieving objective 3.4

The strategy for achieving Objective 3.4 is as follows. First, the EAC will evaluate 

its current research capacity and resources to determine if the agency’s current 

understanding of its stakeholders provides sufficient insight for these decisions. 

Second, the agency will determine what additional resources, if any, are needed 

to accurately make this decision on an ongoing basis and secure these resources. 

Then, as part of the agency’s normal operating processes, the EAC will actively 

use this understanding to design an outreach and distribution strategy for each 

assistance product. Each strategy will be designed to reach the stakeholder group 

that a product was designed to assist, and the agency plans to iteratively improve 

its distribution as it continually learns about its stakeholders’ preferences.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 32

Strategic Goal 4

Operate

Ensure continued effective operation of the EAC in order to 

achieve its goals while acting as good stewards of public funds.

Overview

Through Strategic Goal 4, the agency reaffirms its dedication to being good 

stewards of public funds, contributing positively to the federal government, and 

continuing to build and operate an agency that is diverse and impactful.

Objective 4.2

Continue to build a skilled, diverse, and 

effective workforce that ensures the 

EAC has the human capital needed to 

achieve its mission.

Objective 4.1

Contribute positively and effectively to 

the federal government through active 

contribution and compliance.

Objective 4.3

Develop and continue to manage internal 

structures and tools that produce a cultur

of innovation and a driven workforce 

where thought leaders thrive.

e 

Objective 4.4

Institutionalize an increased level of 

strategic and cross-agency thinking.

Goal Lead

EAC’s Executive Director

Contributing Divisions

• All EAC Divisions

Contributing EAC Programs and 

Tactics

• EAC’s Payments & Grants Program

• EAC’s ongoing compliance with federal 

requirements and mandates

• EAC’s inter-agency efforts and programs

• EAC’s Staff Associate Program

Indicators of Success

• New inter-agency programs that 

provide unique value or generate 

efficiencies

• Continuing compliance with federal 

regulations and mandates

• Internal strategic planning capacity 

development at the division and 

programmatic level
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 33

Objective 4.1

Contribute positively and effectively to 

the federal government through active 

contribution and compliance.

The EAC abides by two key tenets: (1) a dedication to contributing to its federal 

counterparts as the experts in election administration, and (2) continuously 

complying with the federal regulations and requirements that apply to the agency. 

The nature of the EAC’s work and its congressional mandates often require the 

agency to work with other federal agencies. This work includes working with 

the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the General Services 

Administration (GSA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to achieve 

the Commission’s mission. For example, the EAC partnered with DHS in 2016 and 

2017 to distribute cybersecurity information to election officials as they prepared 

to defend their election systems against cyber-threats from foreign actors, and the 

EAC has also helped DHS establish a core component of its critical infrastructure 

operations, the Elections Subsector Government Coordinating Council. As the EAC 

looks to the next four years, it will work with its federal partners to best serve the 

agency’s stakeholders and achieve its mission.

As to compliance with federal requirements, reporting and otherwise, the EAC 

views these requirements as mechanisms through which the federal government 

manages itself as a broader entity. As the EAC builds its own planning and 

management capacities, it looks forward to contributing to the broader 

government’s efforts through compliance with federal regulations and mandates.

Indicators of Objective 4.1 Success

• The generation of new opportunities for inter-agency programs 

that add value or create efficiencies

• Successfully meeting applicable congressional reporting 

deadlines
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 34

Strategy for achieving objective 4.1

The EAC’s activities are statutorily and functionally linked with other 

agencies’ activities. The EAC works with NIST to draft the VVSG, and the 

EAC is working with DHS to help election officials and voters understand 

the impact of DHS’s designation of elections as critical infrastructure. In 

addition to continuing the agency’s current partnerships, the EAC plans 

to continually seek out new opportunities for contributing to the broader 

federal government and generate cross-government efficiencies. The EAC 

also plans to ensure that meeting federal deadlines and requirements 

are part of its internal structures and processes so that the agency is in 

compliance with the applicable regulations.

Objective 4.2

Continue to build a skilled, diverse, 

and effective workforce that ensures 

the EAC has the human capital 

needed to achieve its mission.

Maintaining a skilled, diverse, and effective workforce is essential to the successful 

functioning of the EAC. The agency must be diverse in order to ensure that it has 

a variety of perspectives involved in decision making. Its workforce also needs 

professional talents that ensure the Commission can serve its stakeholders. These 

employees must also be good stewards of public funds. These three pillars – 

diversity, professional talents, and trusted stewardship – will support and guide the 

agency over the next four years. 

Additionally, the field of election administration is ever-changing. Technological 

progress, social shifts, and population fluctuations are all drivers of change. As a 

service agency, when stakeholders’ needs change, so do the agency’s needs. The 

EAC will work to ensure that its workforce is responsive to its mission.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 35

Indicators of Objective 4.2 Success

• Recurring human capital planning aligned with the agency’s 

strategic and operational plans

Strategy for achieving objective 4.2

In order to achieve Objective 4.2, the EAC will plan, work through, and regularly reevaluate its human capital strategy. The agency will assess the agency’s workforce 

to identify potential gap areas and unfulfilled competencies, and it will build 

these competencies as needed. The EAC will continually work to ensure that its 

competencies match its needs.

Efforts are also underway to improve the hiring and on-boarding processes 

and outcomes, with a continued emphasis on assuring diversity and inclusion 

within the workforce. There are plans to improve the effectiveness of employee 

skills assessments, training, delivery methods, and individual development 

plans to support agency succession planning, closing skills gaps, and workforce 

development through FY 2018. Employee accountability will be addressed through 

employee performance plans and organizational action plans. Efforts will continue 

in FY 2018 to improve employee perceptions, engagement, and performance 

through the implementation of action items based on the annual employee survey 

results. The EAC will also explore using its Staff Associate Program as a talent 

pipeline to fill vacancies as they occur. 

Objective 4.3

Develop and continue to manage internal 

structures and tools that produce a culture 

of innovation and a driven workforce.

The EAC’s culture is a significant part of how the agency plans to manage itself 

over the next four years. The EAC will strive to maintain a culture of innovation that 

is driven by staff leaders and will continually seek to improve upon itself.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 36

Strategy for achieving objective 4.3

The EAC obtained new leadership in 2015 and, since then, it has worked to build 

a culture of public servants who are as dedicated to the agency’s mission as they 

are driven to innovate. The EAC will use tools such as an employee engagement 

committee, training sessions, and existing federal services to help it assess and reevaluate the agency’s culture. 

Prior to the drafting of this document, the EAC took steps to improve its employee 

engagement. The agency surveyed its employees in 2017. The agency then 

created an employee engagement committee to improve the areas identified as 

potentials for improvement in the survey. The employee engagement committee 

now operates throughout the year to recognize strengths and rectify arising needs. 

The EAC plans to work through this committee to further improve employee 

engagement as the agency moves through the next four years.

The agency has also partnered with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management 

(OPM) to review its organizational structure and positions. The result of this 

partnership will assist EAC in reshaping its workforce to be a more effective and 

efficient agency. A clear mission can inspire employee engagement and be an 

asset in the improvement of agency performance.

Objective 4.4

Institutionalize an increased level of 

strategic and cross-agency thinking.

A unique facet of the EAC’s congressional mandates is that they often overlap 

with one another. For example, while the EAC collects and distributes election 

administration best practices, the EAC is also charged with collecting data about 

the state of American election administration. Interestingly the people from whom 

the agency collects best practices are often the same people from whom the 

agency collects data on the state of election administration. As another example, 

the EAC is charged with creating and administering the nation’s voluntary program 

for voluntary voting system guidelines, and the EAC is charged with disbursing 

funds to states so that they can procure voting systems for the administration of 

elections.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 37

As the EAC looks to the next four years, it will institutionalize strategic and crossagency thinking to help its divisions and programs work together to achieve the 

agency’s mission. Under this plan, strategic thinking will not be something found 

only at leadership levels. The agency will encourage its employees on the divisional 

and programmatic levels to think strategically and will facilitate cross-agency 

implementation of the programs and improvements generated by this thinking. The 

EAC plans to arrive in 2022 as a team, walking in lockstep and operating in sync.

Contributing Programs and Divisions

• EAC Leadership

• All EAC Divisions and Programs

Strategy for achieving objective 4.4

First, the EAC plans to build a new annual strategic planning process that engages 

EAC Commissioners, EAC leadership, and EAC staff generally. In building this 

planning process, EAC staff will be given the opportunity to plan with each other 

and generate new ideas that will improve the agency.

Second, the EAC plans to continue its Staff Associate Program. This is a rotational 

program in which staff associates work within a division or program learning its 

operations and contributing to its output. Once they become familiar with how 

the division or program works, they are asked to build a new product, initiate a 

new project, or find a solution for that division or program. Every four months they 

rotate to a new division or program. This rotation helps to generate a staff that is 

generally aware of the operational functions and procedures across the agency. It 

also facilitates inter-division problem solving by training an innovative workforce 

and instilling it with knowledge of multiple divisions.
Last Revised: 2/12/18 EAC Strategic Plan 2018 | Page 38

Agency Contact 

Information

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Address

1335 East-West Highway

Suite 4300

Silver Spring, MD, 20910

Phone Number

1-866-747-1471

Website:

https://www.EAC.gov
Last Revised: 2/12/18

U.S. Election 

Assistance

Commission

Strategic Plan