U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

FY 2011 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) 2011 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. 

In FY 2011, EAC, with input from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) and the United States Access Board, awarded $4,500,000 to Clemson 

University in Clemson, SC and $2,500,000 to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in 

Washington, DC for Accessible Voting Technology Initiative grants. The initiative supports research 

and development activities to increase the accessibility of new, existing, and emerging technological 

solutions in areas such as assistive technologies, interoperability, and the design of voting systems. 

Funding supports research for: 1) promising technologies and practices; 2) technology testing and 

adoption; and 3) development of administrative processes and training improvements to increase 

accessibility of existing voting procedures and election systems. 

In FY 2011, EAC awarded $1,463,074 to 12 grant recipients for the Voting System Pre-Election Logic 

and Accuracy Testing (L&A) and Post-Election Audit Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to 

develop and document processes and best practices for coordinating quality and cost-effective voting 
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system pre-election L&A testing, and post-election audits. Outcomes will include tool kits, guides, best 

practices, research findings and recommendations that can be disseminated widely within the election 

community. 

Additionally, EAC monitors 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. 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. The students are provided with a “behind-thescenes” look at the elections process, and learn about setting up polling places, registering 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 2011, to accomplish the Communicate goal, the Communications & Clearinghouse office 

focused efforts on providing information and best practices to election officials and voters in preparation 

for the 2012 federal election cycle with the goal of building a community of knowledge and expertise 

that would save election officials time and money. EAC: 
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• Established The Election Official Exchange to help local election officials connect and leverage 

their collective knowledge by sharing best practices and information; 

• Re-vamped the eac.gov search tool based on usability studies and user feedback; 

• Added Events Finder to the website for a more comprehensive presentation of all EAC public 

events; 

• Made On-Demand webcasts of public meetings and roundtables available within 24 hours; 

• Provided Customized program updates so the public can customize the kind of information and 

the frequency that it is delivered via EAC’s newsletter and automatic program updates; 

• Initiated The EAC Blog to provide periodic election updates and highlight program activities; 

@EACgov on Twitter to rapidly deliver information and updates about the voting system 

certification program, communicate with election officials, and build a community of expertise; 

and #BReady2012, the Twitter hashtag where election officials and the public can gather and 

discuss preparation for the next Federal election;

• Delivered communications presentations to election officials and the Public, including the 

Electronic Verification Network, the Ohio Association of Election Officials and the National 

Conference of State Legislatures; and

• Offered a series of public roundtable discussions with election officials and subject experts in 

preparation for 2012 federal election cycle, webcast live and featuring a live Twitterfall on 

Design Counts in Elections, and Voting Goes Viral: Using New Media to Manage an Election 

and Communicate with Voters. Questions and comments were taken from the public throughout 

the webcasts. 

Grants Management

In FY 2011, EAC: 

• Awarded two grants totaling $7 million for the Accessible Voting Technology Initiative to 

support research and development activities to increase the accessibility of new, existing, and 

emerging technological solutions; 

• Awarded $1,463,074 to 12 grantees for the Voting System Pre-Election Logic and Accuracy 

(L&A) Testing and Post-Election Audit Initiative for development, documentation and best 

practices in L&A and post-election audits. 

• Paid $30,032,324 from the FY 2008 appropriation, $38,299,071 from the FY 2009 appropriation 

and $26,888,473 from the FY 2010 appropriation to the States for Section 251 Requirements 

Payments which are used for meeting Title III voting system and other requirements, and to 

improve the administration of Federal elections; 

• Reported to Congress on how the States have spent HAVA funds; and 

• Coordinated a series of teleconferences for ongoing College Poll Worker and Mock Election 

Programs focused on Teacher and School Administration Involvement, Sustainability Post Grant

and Outreach Efforts for Community Involvement;

Research, Policy and Programs

In FY 2011, EAC: 

 
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• Administered the 2010 Election Administration & Voting Survey to 50 States, the District of 

Columbia, and four territories; 

• Reported to Congress on the findings of the 2009-2010 Impact of the National Voter Registration 

Act of 1993 (released in June 2011); 

• Completed the 2010 Statutory Overview report, which is a recitation of States’ election laws and 

procedures (released in May 2011); 

• Drafted the initial mandated Recounts and Contests study; 

• Selected a contractor to collect and analyze data for the mandated Election Administration in 

Urban and Rural Settings study; 

• Completed the final public hearing on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise the National 

Voter Registration Act of 1993 regulations and collected input from 34 public commenters; 

• Received and processed State requests for modifications to the state-specific instructions on the 

National Mail Voter Registration Form; 

• Revised A Voter’s Guide to Federal Elections in anticipation of the 2012 election and translated 

it into nine languages: Chinese, Cherokee, Dakota, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, 

Vietnamese, and Yu’Pik; 

• Developed a searchable online version of the Glossaries of Election Terminology at 

www.eac.gov/glossary/default.aspx; and 

• Solicited feedback from EAC College Poll Worker and Mock Election grantees via 

teleconferences for updating the Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers. 

Voting Systems Testing and Certification

In FY 2011, EAC: 

• Certified one full system, ES&S Unity 3.2.1.0, and one modification, Unisyn 1.01; 

• Performed testing for eleven voting systems or system modifications; 

• Completed the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) Registration 

and Voting Process white paper; 

• Published A Survey of Internet Voting; 

• Performed ongoing work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to complete 

revision to Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 1.1 Draft; 

• Participated in the SLI Global National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program audit 

January 31-February 2, 2011;

• Held roundtable discussions regarding the 2010 elections and preparations for 2012; 

Commercially-available Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software; and Life Cycle of a Voting System; and 

• Participated in meetings on State voting system certification, options for a competition run by 

Federal Voting Assistance Program to solicit system architecture for a UOCAVA internet voting 

demonstration project, VVSG requirements, test suites, Internet Voting and USENIX/EVoting, 

current testing for the State of Oklahoma, and voting system sustainability. 

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 
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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. 

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 

2011 containing audited financial statements is reliable and complete. This is the third year EAC has

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

In FY 2011, 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 2011, EAC’s appropriations totaled $16.3 million for Salaries and Expenses. By the end of FY 

2011, EAC had a balance of $2.2 million on hand in no-year Election Reform program grant funds. 

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 2011 Agency Financial Report and Annual Performance Report, and the FY 2013 Congressional Budget Justification 

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