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This month, the EAC is highlighting:
- Apply for Help America Vote College Program grants by Dec. 18
- New EAC Resources: Election Readiness Checklist and Communications Accessibility Checklist
- USPS National Change of Address Information and Resource
- NASS Launches #TrustedInfo2024
- EAVS Comment Period Open Until January 15
- ESTEP Virtual Meeting Recordings Available
- TGDC Annual Meeting Was Held December 5
- VVSG Migration concluded
Apply for the Help America Vote College Program Through Dec. 18
Applications for the Help America Vote College Program (HAVCP) are open through December 18th. There are two separate grant programs available for colleges and nonprofit organizations to consider: the two-year HAVCP Poll Worker Grant and the one-year HAVCP Service Day Mini-Grant. These grants are meant to help with funding college student civic education, engagement, and poll worker recruitment and training.
Accredited colleges (including community colleges) and universities, nonprofit organizations, and local and state election offices are eligible to apply.
For more information about these programs, including details, grant award amounts, document previews, and recorded training sessions for technical assistance, visit the HAVCP’s webpage.
Election Readiness Checklist
The 2024 elections are almost here. This new EAC checklist can help election officials plan for the busy year to come. From communicating with the public to preparing for post-election audits and potential recounts, this new resource will help election offices keep track of essential tasks.
Communications Accessibility Checklist
Communicating information such as election dates, times, and polling is critically important to the function of an election office, but to be most effective, it should be accessible to all voters, including those with disabilities. Election officials can use this new checklist to develop accessible communications that are ADA compliant including electronic documents, in-person communications, videos and virtual meetings, and social media posts.
Find this new resource and other assistance to ensure all voters can cast their ballot privately and independently on the EAC’s website.
USPS National Change of Address Updates
As you may know, on May 31st the United States Postal Service (USPS) began requiring all customers using their Change of Address service to provide proof of identity. These enhanced security measures, intended to combat an increase in identity fraud and protect customer information, also require customers to complete additional steps during the process. Many verification options are available, both in-person and online, but the full impact of these changes is not yet known.
Given the widespread use of National Change of Address (NCOA) data to inform voter file list maintenance, election administrators should be aware that the overall volume of address changes coming from the Post Office may be affected. More information about the new Change of Address process is available from the USPS here, and the EAC will be releasing further guidance in the coming weeks.
NASS Launches #TrustedInfo2024
The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and its nearly 40 Chief Election Official Members, have launched the association’s initiative, #TrustedInfo2024, ahead of the 2024 elections. This effort continues to highlight election officials as the trusted sources for election information, which is critical in the age of mis-, dis-, and mal-information campaigns.
NASS’s nonpartisan #TrustedInfo2024 effort directs voters to election officials’ websites, social media pages, and other public facing materials for information on each step of the election process—from registration, voting, to post-election procedures.
View NASS’s #TrustedInfo2024 page for more information and follow NASS on social media (Facebook, Instagram and X) for real-time updates.
EAVS Comment Period
The 60-day Public Comment period for the 2024 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) has begun. This is your chance to provide any feedback on questions and improvements to the forthcoming 2024 EAVS and Policy Survey. The deadline to submit a comment is January 15, 2024. You can submit comments at the link below:
https://www.regulations.gov/document/EAC-2023-0008-0001
If you have questions contact [email protected].
ESTEP Presented their Findings from the E-Poll Book Pilot Program
In two virtual meetings, the EAC’s ESTEP program discussed the findings of the E-Poll Book Pilot Program, pilot participants, state and local jurisdictions, voting system test laboratories, and next steps for the E-Poll Book Pilot Program.
You can watch both the Nov. 17 and the Dec 4 (LINK) meetings on the EAC’s YouTube channel.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact [email protected].
The TGDC 2023 held their Annual Meeting on December 5
The EAC’s Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) hosted an in-person public meeting on December 5, 2023, at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Rockville, Maryland.
During the meeting, board members discussed on EAC and NIST program updates, VVSG annual review, qualitative research with the election community, new data formats, lab testing strategies, coordinated vulnerability management for voting systems, and artificial intelligence in elections.
A recording of the meeting is available online.
VVSG 2.0 Migration has Concluded
VVSG 2.0 Migration concluded on November 15th. VVSG 2.0 Migration tools and resources are still available on eac.gov. These include talking points to help communicate with media, the public, and stakeholders EAC’s resources to help election officials communicate what this means and how 1.0 and 1.1 certified voting systems are secure and may continue to be used based on state and local law; customizable graphic templates; the Secure Elections Toolkit; and the EAC Testing and Certification Factsheet.