Base award

The Maryland State Board of Elections was awarded a $746,201.65 Project Grant from the Department of Defense's Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) under the Ease 3.0 federal grant program (CFDA 12.219). The grant, awarded on July 31, 2024, is intended to develop electronic tools to improve the absentee voting experience for military personnel, their families, and overseas citizens covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Key objectives of the grant include enhancing electronic ballot transmission, implementing ballot tracking and digital signature verification, and reducing failure rates across the absentee voting process. The Maryland State Board of Elections, as a state government entity, will use the grant funding to deliver these critical technological innovations and security enhancements to the electoral infrastructure, in alignment with the FVAP's goals of increasing UOCAVA voter participation and improving the overall integrity of the absentee voting system.