U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

FY 2010 Summary of Performance and Financial 

Information 

 Assisting the effective administration of Federal elections 
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Purpose of the Report

This Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Summary of Performance and Financial Information represents the U.S. 

Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC’s) effort to provide a summary of key agency goals, 

information on how appropriated funds are used, and plans to both build on successes and address 

challenges. 

Background

Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 in response to issues raised in the 2000 

Presidential election. The law recognizes the need for States to invest in their election infrastructure and 

sets out a comprehensive program of funding to the States, voluntary guidance, and ongoing research 

into the improvement of Federal elections. To foster those programs and to promote and enhance voting

for United States citizens, HAVA established the EAC. 

EAC is charged with, among other activities: 

• Serving as a clearinghouse of information on the administration of Federal elections for election 

officials and voters, 

• Certifying voting equipment to voluntary voting system standards adopted by the Commission, 

• Providing voluntary guidance on computerized statewide voter registration databases and 

provisional voting to the states. 

• Maintaining the National Voter Registration Act form, 

• Making information available to the public on voting activity of individuals covered by the 

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and 

• Distributing HAVA funds to States for improvements to the administration of elections for 

Federal office. 

Federal election improvements include support of poll worker training, education of the public on voting 

rights such as provisional voting, and helping provide voters with polling place access information such 

as when and where to vote. 

Additionally, EAC awards funds for the College Poll Worker and Mock Election grant programs. The 

College Poll Worker program seeks to attract a new generation of poll workers, critical to the 

administration of elections. To date, grantees reported recruiting over 5,000 students to serve as poll 

workers in 2010. The College Poll Workers are trained on setting up polling places, greeting voters, 

checking voter names on voting registers, checking voter identification where required, staffing 

information booths, demonstrating use of the machines to voters, answering voter questions, serving as

election observers, assisting voters with disabilities, securing voting machines at the end of election day, 

counting votes, and transmitting election results. 

The Mock Election grants promote voter participation in national elections through voter education 

activities for high school students and their parents. To date, grantees reported that nearly 400,000

students participated in 2010 midterm election cycle activities. The students are provided with a 

“behind-the-scenes” look at the elections process, and learn about setting up polling places, registering 
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to vote, and casting informed ballots. The grants help build community involvement in and awareness 

of the election process, and encourage future civic engagement and participation by the students 

involved in the program. 

Strategic Goals

In March 2009, EAC adopted it first Strategic Plan for 2009 through 2014, with five strategic goals: 

Communicate -- Communicate timely and accurate information on the effective 

administration of elections for Federal office and on the operations and services offered 

by EAC. 

Fund and Oversee -- Deliver and manage Federal funds effectively. 

Study, Guide and Assist -- Identify and develop information on areas of pressing 

concern regarding the administration of elections for Federal office, issue recommended 

improvements, guidance, translations, and best practices as required by HAVA, and carry 

out responsibilities under the National Voter Registration Act. 

Test and Certify -- Build public confidence in elections by testing and certifying voting 

systems to improve system security, operation, and accessibility. 

Manage -- Achieve organizational and management excellence. 

Performance Data and Key Performance Measures

During FY 2010, to accomplish the Communicate goal, EAC launched a new website with powerful 

search and improved navigation tools. The Communications & Clearinghouse division also posted 

videos on eac.gov and YouTube on: 

• Contingency Planning, 

• Polling Place Management, 

• the EAC Voluntary Voting System Testing and Certification Program, and 

• Making Polling Places Accessible. 

In the area of Grants Management, EAC: 

• Awarded eight Mock Election grants totaling $300,000 to help educate students about the 

electoral process. 

• Awarded fifteen Help America Vote College Program grants totaling $750,000 to recruit 

students to serve as poll workers. 

• Awarded a $500,000 Military Heroes grant to improve voting accessibility for injured military 

personnel. 

• Conducted a roundtable discussion on research, development and implementation of 

technologies and other assistance to make voting more accessible to individuals with disabilities. 
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• Adopted a Maintenance of Effort Policy to facilitate State compliance with the maintenance of 

expenditure requirement in HAVA. 

In FY 2010, to fulfill the Study, Guide and Assist goals, EAC: 

• Issued Election Management Guideline chapters and Quick Start Guides on Technology in 

Elections, Elections Office Administration, Accessibility, Building Community Partnerships, 

Canvassing and Certifying an Election, Communicating with the Public, Conducting a Recount, 

and Provisional Ballots. 

• Released the mandated report on Free Postage for the Return of Voted Absentee Ballots. 

• Convened a working group on Administering Elections in Rural and Urban Areas. 

• Initiated the public comment process on proposed changes to incorporate HAVA requirements 

into the National Voter Registration Act regulations (NVRA). 

• Translated the National Mail Voter Registration Form into five Asian languages. 

• Expanded the translated versions of the Voter’s Guide to Federal Elections to include four 

Native American languages. 

• Partnered with the Office of Citizenship within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to 

make the Voter’s Guide available to new citizens in the U.S. naturalization ceremony packet. 

Finally, FY 2010 accomplishments in the Voting Systems Testing and Certification area include: 

• Certification of a fourth voting system in eight months at a cost of less than $1 million to the test 

laboratory. 

• Issuance of a report to Congress on the status of establishing guidelines for remote electronic 

voting systems for absentee voters pursuant to the Military and Overseas Voters Empowerment 

(MOVE) Act. 

• Assembling a joint workshop with the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) and National 

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act (UOCAVA) remote electronic absentee voting systems; and jointly completing a 

UOCAVA Pilot Program Testable Requirements document. 

• Completing a revision of the 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) Version 1.1 

addressing comments received during the public comment period ending September 28, 2009. 

The draft revised version and policy decisions were presented to EAC’s Commissioners and 

discussed at a public meeting in September 2010. 

Agency Assessment of Performance

Since the Strategic Plan was adopted mid-year in FY 2009, EAC has been refining metrics, and 

developing systems to collect performance data and the internal controls needed to ensure that reported 

performance is adequately supported. At this stage of development of agency performance 

measurement, we are reporting on outputs. The outputs establish the infrastructure required to begin the 

process of developing and improving program outcomes. 
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Key Management Challenges and Assurances

EAC continues to improve it programs and operations, strengthen internal controls, financial 

management, and information technology. The data provided in the Agency Financial Report for FY 

2010 containing audited financial statements is reliable and complete. This is the second year EAC has 

received an unqualified, or “clean”, opinion on the financial statements. 

In FY 2010, EAC worked to resolve one material weakness in the effectiveness of its internal control 

over operations: lack of effective written policies and procedures. With the open material weakness, the 

Commission provides a qualified statement of assurance that internal control and financial management 

systems meet the objectives of the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act. 

Financial Results 

In FY 2010, EAC’s appropriations totaled $93.0 million: $70.0 million for HAVA requirements 

payments to the States, $18.0 million for operations, $3.0 million for research on voting technology 

improvement grants, and $2.0 million for pre-election voting system logic and accuracy testing and postelection voting systems verification. By the end of FY 2010, EAC had a balance of $11.8 million on 

hand in no-year grant funds, and $0.2 million in operational funding. 

Since the passage of HAVA, Congress has appropriated nearly $3.3 billion to support States in 

improving the administration of Federal elections, primarily by purchasing and upgrading systems for 

casting votes and for registering voters in statewide voter registration systems. States have also used 

HAVA funds to: 

1) implement provisional voting; 

2) train election officials, poll workers, and voters; 

3) improve polling place accessibility; 

4) provide voter information at the polling places;

5) provide language assistance for citizens who are not proficient in English; 

6) use toll free telephone lines; and 

7) establish identification requirements for first-time voters who register to vote by mail. 

The FY 2010 Agency Financial Report and Annual Performance Report, and the FY 2012 Congressional Budget Justification 

can be found on the agency website www.eac.gov under Operations, Budget and Finance.