How much money is available and how much will each state be awarded?
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 provides $380 million to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), as authorized under Title I Section 101 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-252), to make grant payments to states using the voting age population formula described in Sections 101 and 103 of HAVA. A chart showing how much each state is being awarded can be found at https://www.eac.gov/2018funding.
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Who is eligible to receive funds?
Awards will be made to the entities eligible to receive federal assistance under Title I of HAVA, which includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands (herein referred to as “the states”). The states may re-grant/distribute funds to local election districts/offices at their discretion.
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When will the funds be available for states to use and how long do states have to spend the funds?
States will receive grant award notification letters from the EAC by early April 2018. The letter will allow states to incur costs, with prior EAC approval, against the forthcoming grant awards, effective the date of the notification letter. Funds will be available for states to deposit in their state election accounts when they return signed grant documents and the required certifications and assurances. States have until September 30, 2023 to request their funds and get the money in their accounts, after which time any funds remaining at EAC will automatically be returned to the U.S. Treasury.
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What is the process for applying for funds?
The funds are available as formula, non-competitive grants. States will be asked to submit a 2-3 page narrative overview of activities to be supported with the funds and a line item budget within 90 days of receiving their Notice of Grant Awards. Detailed guidance on development of the plans and budgets will be forthcoming. Note that the awards will be issued and funds available for drawdown prior to receipt of the plan overview to expedite and support any needed expenditures ahead of the 2018 Election.
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Is there a state match requirement and when/how do states have to provide the match?
States are required to match 5 percent of these funds awarded within two years of receiving federal funds. States may either deposit matching funds in their state election accounts or track eligible funds/activities from their state and local general operating budgets to meet the match obligations. State and local funds used for match must be different from funds used to meet Maintenance of Effort or state match associated with HAVA Requirement Payments. American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are exempt from the match requirement.
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How can states use the funds?
Consistent with provisions in HAVA, states have discretion upon expenditures. The EAC can answer specific questions about how the money may be utilized, and will be capturing questions from states and sharing the answers in updated versions of this FAQ document.
As a point of reference, the EAC is including along with these FAQs the section of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 that authorizes and appropriates the federal funds as well as pages 1 and 57 of “Division E – Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2018,” which is a joint explanatory statement that indicates congressional intent on how the funds may be spent. The joint explanatory language provides on page 57, that:
The bill provides $380,000,000 to the Election Assistance Commission to make payments to states for activities to improve the administration of elections for Federal office, including to enhance election technology and make election security improvements, as authorized under sections 101, 103, and 104 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-252). Consistent with the requirements of HAVA, states may use this funding to
- Replace voting equipment that only records a voter's intent electronically with equipment that utilizes a voter verified paper record;
- Implement a post-election audit system that provides a high level of confidence in the accuracy of the final vote tally;
- Upgrade election related computer systems to address cyber vulnerabilities identified through Department of Homeland Security, or similar scans or assessments of, existing election systems;
- Facilitate cybersecurity training for the state chief election official's office and local election officials;
- Implement established cybersecurity best practices for election systems; and
- Fund other activities that will improve the security of elections for Federal office.
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Will the funds be available in time to impact the 2018 elections?
The EAC is committed to making funds available as soon as feasibly possible. By releasing these funds quickly, it is hoped that the grants can have an immediate impact on the 2018 election cycle. How the funds will impact the 2018 elections will be entirely determined by how and at what pace states and localities deploy the federal resources.
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What are the reporting requirements for states receiving funds?
States must provide an annual standard Federal Financial Report and program narrative for the period ending September 30, which is due by December 30 of the same year.
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What if our state still has some HAVA funds remaining?
Any HAVA funds still remaining at the state level should be tracked and reported separately from this new award. HAVA funds disbursed in earlier years are available for use until expended and have no impact on the amount awarded for this grant program.
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Can funds be distributed if the EAC does not have a Commissioner quorum?
Yes. A quorum is not needed to distribute funds to states.
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Can state/local election jurisdictions use the 2018 HAVA funds to purchase Enhanced Cybersecurity Services (ESC) offered by the Department of Homeland Security?
Yes, this is an allowable expenditure and EAC encourages states and localities to explore this type of expenditure as an immediate way to augment cyber capabilities already in place.
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What does "Reserve" mean?
The states have a great deal of flexibility in how they deploy the federal grant funds. The Reserve category on the budget worksheets are for funds that have not yet been budgeted by the States. As needs or threats become apparent, the funds designated in Reserve will move to other categories on the budget worksheet.
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Are HAVA funds distributed to counties based on population size of the county or is it first come first serve until State funds are exhausted? Is there guidance from EAC on this?
The EAC grant funds are disbursed by a voting-age population formula to the States. States have discretion as to if and how they make available funds to local election jurisdictions. Some states have chosen to issue funds by formula, others publish a list of reimbursable items while others allow counties to submit proposals and budgets to cover their needs.
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