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.
States are required to match the federal funds awarded according to the level of match specified in HAVA or set in the annual appropriations law. HAVA sets a 5% state match to Section 251 funds that must be deposited in an Election Fund described in Section 251 (b). HAVA does not set a required state match for Section 101 funds, but appropriations language may specify a matching requirement, e.g., Election Security grants.
If appropriations language sets a match requirement for Section 101 funds, the language may also specify a deadline for state to identify how they will meet the match or appropriate state funds for the match. The states then have the remaining period of the grant to meet the matching requirements. Under this scenario for Section 101 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, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are exempt from the match requirement.
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.
EAC will obligate the funds to the states in the Treasury system and issue grant award notification letters by mid to late January. The grant award letter will allow states to incur costs, effective December 21, 2019, the day after the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed. Funds will be available for states to deposit in their state election accounts when they return a signed funding request letter and the required certifications and assurances. EAC will provide a template on the EAC website that states can use to meet the stipulations in the letter for accessing the funds.
States should request their funds immediately. Regardless of the disbursement date, states are authorized to incur costs against the grant as of December 21, 2019.
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.
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 /2018funding.
I understand you would like to know if you can vote from your home and not physically go to a polling location. some states have this availability, but it is mostly for voters who are physically incapable of getting to the polling locations. Since the election laws vary from state to state it is best for you to contact your local state board of elections. They will be able to assist you with this information.
The federal government’s first voting system certification program began operations in January, 2007.
For more information about EAC's Voting System Certification and Testing Program, visit the FAQ page.
To be able to vote while out of the country you must apply for an absentee ballot. To do this, please go to https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingAbsentee.html and review the information on absentee voting. If you have any questions please contact your county board of elections (the listing of the county boards is located in the sentence under "Download Spanish Form") and they will further explain the process for you.
One approach is to use our 2016 EAVS data which can be found here: /research-and-data/datasets-codebooks-and-surveys/. Specifically registration data is in Section A, and registered voter numbers for the 2016 election cycle can be found in question A1. However the Iowa Secretary of State updates registration totals monthly. They just released their most recent registration report, dated Oct. 2, 2017: https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/VRStatsArchive/2017/CoOct17.pdf. Emmet's County information is listed there.
We don't have total population in our dataset. The report also does not have county-level data of voting age citizens. That data can be found at the US Census website. This is the most recent data from the Census for county-level estimates and should be noted doesn't match the time frame of our registration data. Our registration data is numbers reported from the states from after the 2014 election up to the November 2016 election. The Census data is estimates taken from a 5-year survey average from 2011 - 2015.