U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

633 3rd St. NW, Suite 200 

Washington, DC 20001

Committee on House Administration 

American Confidence in Elections: State Tools to Promote Voter Confidence 

 

Testimony: United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 

Donald Palmer, Commissioner 

April 27, 2023 

Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Morelle, and members of the Committee, thank you for the 

opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the extensive work of the U.S. Election 

Assistance Commission (EAC) as we help state officials prepare for the 2024 elections. The 

integrity of U.S. elections, coupled with cybersecurity measures, play a crucial role in our 

national security. This important hearing demonstrates your commitment to our nation’s 

elections, and I appreciate your attention. 

The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). Since that time, the 

agency has worked closely with election officials by distributing grant funds, certifying voting 

systems, highlighting best practices, collecting data through the Election Administration and 

Voting Survey, and developing numerous clearinghouse products and services. Elections are 

administered by the states and our efforts are vital to this endeavor. As such, we are extremely 

grateful for the agency funding and close attention to our work from Congress in recent years. 

Your steadfast support has proven instrumental to the Commission and to election administrators 

and voters across the country. 

The EAC is making significant progress toward fulfilling its mission to improve the 

administration of federal elections. Over the past year, the agency continued to administer $955 

million in HAVA security grants to the states, territories, and the District of Columbia. In 2022, 

the EAC marked the 20th anniversary of HAVA, commemorating the historic milestone with the 

launch of Help America Vote Day and the celebration of the second National Poll Worker 

Recruitment Day. Earlier this year, the agency hired Steven Frid, an experienced government 

leader, as our new Executive Director. With the outstanding work of state and local election 

officials and assistance from the EAC and our trusted federal partners, the 2022 midterms were 

administered successfully. 

The following are some of the primary approaches the agency employs to raise awareness of 

election procedures and security measures. We aim to amplify support for the work of election 

officials, which should all give the American public confidence that our elections are safe, 

secure, accessible, and accurate. 
Collaborative Efforts 

Most recently, in keeping closely engaged with state and local election administrators, the EAC 

held annual meetings of our Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) boards. The EAC’s Board 

of Advisors and Standards Board are instrumental in helping the agency meet various HAVA 

responsibilities. This includes review of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), 

nonpartisan best practices, and other initiatives. The Board of Advisors is composed of experts 

from national, state and local governmental agencies and independent organizations. The 

Standards Board consists of state and local election officials from each state. The Local 

Leadership Council, made up of local election leaders, serves as a source of unbiased analysis to 

the EAC on election administration topics including list maintenance, voting system user 

practices, ballot administration, and other matters. Finally, the Technical Guidelines 

Development Committee (TGDC) acts to support the EAC’s Executive Director in the 

development of the VVSG and consists of members across a broad spectrum of technical 

knowledge and organizations. 

The Board of Advisors concluded their meeting yesterday here in Washington, DC, and the 

Standards Board met last week in Phoenix, Arizona. At these collaborative meetings, the agency 

shared election security information and tools to increase voter confidence. Both forums 

provided us with direct feedback from lawmakers, election officials, and other experts, offering 

actionable guidance for future plans. The EAC is also looking forward to a meeting of the 

agency’s new Local Leadership Council in July. 

Introduced in the 117th Congress, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act, would direct 

guide the bipartisan EAC Standards Board to establish a federal forum that will assist states 

develop best practices. It focuses on ways states can learn from one another and discuss tools 

that build voter confidence and election integrity. Recognizing that states are experts in their own 

election administration, our goal as a federal government agency is to serve as a clearinghouse, 

facilitating collaboration among states and providing access to voluntary tools that enhance 

election administration without imposing mandates. This provision would highlight the 

Standards Board’s work with election officials. 

As part of ongoing outreach efforts in 2023, EAC Commissioners and staff are conducting 

frequent in-person meetings with election officials and experts across the country. 

Commissioners also actively address election official conferences and advocacy organizations. 

To engage the public at large, the agency hosts open meetings on various topics of interest. Thus 

far this year we have had discussions on poll worker recruitment and list maintenance. On 

Wednesday, April 26th, at our new offices in downtown Washington, DC, we hosted an in-person 

discussion on serving military and overseas voters. Topics for likely future forums include voter 

education and civic engagement, accessibility for voters with disabilities, EAC’s pilot program 

on election supporting technology, and continuity of emergency operations. The EAC takes a 

comprehensive approach under our agency’s mission to assist state and local election officials 

and offer them tools for success. 

At the federal level, we work diligently to improve the lines of communication between 

agencies, election jurisdictions, and ultimately the public. In 2020, the EAC and Cybersecurity 
Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) established the Election Infrastructure Subsector 

(EIS) Government Coordinating Council (GCC). Through this interagency organization, the 

EAC is able to coordinate our services and communications with both CISA and the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We continue to work closely with CISA as they provide services 

and information that supports the EAC’s mission. The EAC also serves as co-chair of the GCC 

Executive Board and, as such, participates in regular meetings with other federal entities. 

In 2023, we endeavor to do more. Whether piloting new programs, expanding testing and 

certification services, enhancing grants administration and oversight, or expanding our 

Clearinghouse Division, the EAC will continue to assist local officials and collaborate with our 

federal partners. 

Election Supporting Technology 

As a part of our election technology efforts, the agency launched the Election Supporting 

Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) in FY 2022. As more states and localities adopt 

technology to assist with election administration, officials are looking to the EAC for voluntary 

standards and guidance. Currently, election administrators must rely on a patchwork of state 

laws, regulations, and certification programs of varying degrees of applicability, scope, and 

completeness. Congress and the EAC continue to analyze the practicality of this program to offer 

potential solutions and efficiencies. The ACE Act included a provision related to voluntary 

standards for election supporting technology, and I appreciate your attention to this matter. 

The EAC would benefit from explicit statutory authorization to include several types of electionsupporting technologies in our ongoing work relating to cybersecurity. An established program 

would provide for the development of voluntary standards, guidance, and training material 

covering election-supporting technologies, such as e-poll books, voter registration systems, and 

accessible ballot delivery, marking, and return solutions. Accessible ballots in particular are 

essential for assisting voters with disabilities as we strive to meet HAVA’s promise of a private 

and independent vote. These election-supporting technologies help bring additional efficiencies 

to both election administration and voter and are increasingly vital to our nation’s election 

infrastructure. 

Field Services and Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 

The agency’s Testing and Certification Division is working to launch a Field Services Program 

to help election officials strengthen their overall posture and preparedness regarding voting 

systems. This endeavor will bring EAC staff on site across the country to work with local 

officials on voting system monitoring, best practices, and training. Implementing fielded system 

reviews will ensure the equipment delivered to jurisdictions corresponds to procurement orders. 

The program will also analyze hardware and software configurations to verify equivalency to 

EAC certifications and conduct additional oversight efforts. We recently onboarded the Field 

Services Program manager and look forward to developing this initiative to directly assist 

officials with election systems on the front lines. 
In 2022, the Commission also made considerable progress by fully implementing version 2.0 of 

the VVSG. The new guidelines incorporate technology advancements in cybersecurity, accuracy, 

accessibility, usability, and auditability. Adoption of the EAC’s new VVSG lifecycle policy, 

along with the accreditation of two Voting System Test Laboratories (VSTL), are critical steps 

toward the realization of voting systems that are VVSG 2.0 tested and certified. The EAC has 

already received an application for one system to be tested with VVSG 2.0. We are diligently 

working to ease the transition to this dramatically improved iteration of the guidelines. 

The EAC's VVSG Lifecycle Policy details how old standards are updated. According to section 

three of the policy, the old standards are to be deprecated, or sunset, 12 months after new 

standards are implemented. With the accreditation on November 15, 2022 of the first VSTL to 

test VVSG 2.0, previous versions of VVSG are scheduled to be sunset on November 16, 2023. 

The EAC will continue to accept applications for voting systems to be tested against VVSG 1.0 

and 1.1 until November 15th of this year. After that point, all applications must meet 

requirements of VVSG 2.0 for newly certified voting systems or have only limited maintenance 

modifications for existing EAC-certified systems. 

I would also take this opportunity to emphasize that VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 certified voting systems 

will not be decertified by the EAC as the result of VVSG deprecation. VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 

certified voting systems are secure, may continue to be used, and do not need to be replaced or 

certified to VVSG 2.0. 

There will likely not be a system certified to VVSG 2.0 deployed in the 2024 elections, but the 

systems tested to previous iterations continue to be secure and accurate. Congress and the 

American people should have confidence in that, and the EAC will continue to amplify this 

message throughout 2023 and 2024. Although it will take time to implement new systems 

certified under the rigorous VVSG 2.0 process, the groundwork has been laid for future progress. 

Advancements in this area will help provide states with a key tool for boosting confidence in our 

election systems. 

In addition, as we analyze the serious nature of cybersecurity across the election community, the 

EAC is planning a voluntary Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Program. The need to quickly 

identify and respond to vulnerabilities to our voting systems that could be possibly exploited is 

extremely important. The EAC will lead the program alongside our federal partners at CISA and 

the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This program is in its infancy but is 

a priority for the Commission. 

Clearinghouse Services for State and Local Officials 

The EAC’s Clearinghouse Division, made up of former election officials and subject matter 

experts, helps the EAC share best practices, information for voters, and other resources to 

improve elections. We serve as a trusted source of nonpartisan election information. The 

Clearinghouse Division also develops resources and meets with stakeholders and state and local 

officials. All the while, The Division’s work is guided by the Clearinghouse parameters set forth 

in HAVA. 
Over the past year, the Clearinghouse Division has released dozens of products and services to 

assist election officials. Among our efforts to support integrity in elections, the agency published 

list maintenance tools and resources, a comprehensive guidebook on chain of custody, detailed 

material on different types of audits, and information on the proper disposal of unused election 

equipment. Furthermore, our work on list maintenance has fostered a pilot project relating to new 

tools in this area. We plan to utilize resources from a leading credit bureau together with selected 

state and local jurisdictions to enhance list maintenance practices. The pilot aims to determine 

best addresses for voters who have not responded to notifications or other attempted inquiries on 

their current registration status. 

Additionally, the EAC recently released a comprehensive set of modernized Election 

Management Guidelines (EMG). This resource advises local and state election officials on a 

wide variety of topics in administering elections. As physical security, cybersecurity, and 

continuity of operations become increasingly important components of national security, the 

Clearinghouse Division regularly publishes new guidance and solicits feedback from 

stakeholders. 

To this end, the EAC is continuing work on its online Clearinghouse Network – a collaborative 

peer-to-peer platform where election officials can find resources, connect with experts and 

colleagues in other jurisdictions, and discuss emerging issues. We recognize that election 

officials must be able to communicate with each other on common issues and solutions. This 

resource offers a secure platform on which to do so. 

The network is organized by community topics, and individual posts and resources can be 

tagged. Users can also list their skills and interests on their profiles, making it easy for 

community members to connect with experts on specific topics. The best source of practical 

information is the election officials themselves and the EAC wants to facilitate discussions 

between states and localities. We plan to beta test the network with the EAC’s FACA board 

members later this summer. 

Election Security Grants and Oversight 

A core component of the EAC’s mission is distributing, assisting with, monitoring, and auditing 

the use of federal grants for the improvement of election administration and security. Federal 

HAVA funds, including the recent appropriation of $75 million, are a key resource for election 

administrators dealing with ever-growing demands. Grant funding in this area is crucial and we 

value your efforts to address the needs of state and local government through the congressional 

appropriations process. 

The EAC works diligently to advise states on the availability of funds and has an extensive track 

record with grant administration. We regularly publish guidance in the form of frequently asked 

questions regarding how funds may be used. Agency leadership also understands the importance 

of critical oversight and has adopted a comprehensive grants software tracking system to 

enhance the overall grants administration process. 
Alongside these efforts, the EAC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has recently added 

resources and staff to better monitor state spending of election security grants. As set forth under 

HAVA, audits of election security grants are conducted after a state begins to expend the funds. 

Moving forward, the OIG would like to utilize audits more frequently and implement additional 

oversight checks to increase confidence that grant funding is used appropriately. 

In addition, the OIG recently issued a comprehensive report entitled, “Management Challenges 

for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in 2023.” The OIG cited several areas to enhance 

EAC efforts moving forward. We appreciate these opportunities to improve overall agency 

operations to further assist election officials, congressional stakeholders, and voters. 

 

Conclusion 

As this Committee considers election administration reform legislation, the EAC stands ready to 

serve as a helpful resource. Insight from election officials and practitioners of election 

administration will also inform impactful election reform legislation as the EAC seeks to bolster 

America’s confidence in our national elections. I appreciate your work on the ACE Act and, in 

particular, applaud bill text recognizing the EAC’s leadership role and the vital assistance we 

provide to election officials. 

Thank you for your support of the EAC and your tireless commitment to state and local election 

officials. We look forward to working closely with you on these and other important matters. I 

would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.