FY2026 (pava) hava protection & advocacy: voting access

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living awarded $188,180 to Disability Rights Vermont, Inc. on October 1, 2025, under the Help America Vote Act Protection & Advocacy: Voting Access (PAVA) program (CFDA 93.618), a formula grant supporting voting rights protection and advocacy for individuals with disabilities.

Disability Rights Vermont delivers education, training, and assistance to individuals with disabilities to promote participation in the electoral process; conducts advocacy and education efforts around HAVA implementation in Vermont; trains election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers on the rights of voters with disabilities and best practices for serving them; assists individuals with disabilities in filing complaints under state-based administrative grievance procedures and represents them in related hearings; provides assistance to state and local entities regarding polling place accessibility; and obtains training and technical assistance on voting issues, including education on accessible voting equipment and systems.

The award covers the period October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2030, with performance in Vermont. Disability Rights Vermont is the designated protection and advocacy system for Vermont and administers multiple federal protection and advocacy grants addressing individual rights, mental illness, assistive technology, traumatic brain injury, developmental disabilities, and voting access.