Poll Worker Application Kit - 11.17.23Revision.pdf

0 U.S. ELECTION

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COMMISSION

HELP AMERICA VOTE

COLLEGE PROGRAM

A P P L I C A N T T O O L K I T OMB Control #:3265-0025

Expiration Date: 11/30/2026

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Federal Agency Name: Election Assistance Commission

Funding Opportunity Title: Help America Vote College Program Assistance Listing Numbers (formerly CFDA): 90.400

Public Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 17 hours per submission, including reviewing instructions, gathering, and maintaining the data needed, and completing the application and reporting forms. Comments on the burden or content of this instrument may be sent to the Election Assistance Commission, at:

HAVCP@eac.gov. Election Assistance Commission informs people who may respond to this collection of information that they are not required to respond to the collection of information unless the OMB control number and expiration date displayed on page one (1) are current and valid. (See 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i))

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act: Grant recipients will be required to report at www.FSRS.gov on all subawards over $30,000 and may be required to report on executive compensation for recipients and subrecipients. Recipients must have the necessary systems in place to collect and report this information. See 2 CFR Part 170 for more information and to determine how these requirements apply.

Unique Identifier: Applicants must include a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in the application. The UEI is generated as part of the System for Award Management (SAM) registration process. Applicants must have a SAM registration. The legal applicant’s name and physical address must align with the SAM registration. All grant recipients must maintain an active registration throughout the performance period.

Privacy Act Statement: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C 552a) requires that we notify you that the information requested under this Notice of Funding is collected pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 12592 and 12615 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 as amended, and 42 U.S.C. 4953 of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 as amended.

Purposes and Uses: The information requested is collected to review grant applications and grant funding requests. Routine uses may include disclosure of the information to federal, state, or local agencies pursuant to lawfully authorized requests. The information may also be provided to appropriate federal agencies and contractors that have a need to know the information for the purpose of assisting the government to respond to a suspected or confirmed breach of the security or confidentiality or information maintained in this system of records, and the information disclosed is relevant and necessary for the assistance.

Effects of Nondisclosure: The information requested is voluntary; however, to be a recipient of this grant program, disclosure of personal or sensitive information is required to receive federal benefits.

Use of Material To ensure that materials generated with HAVA funding are available to the public and readily mailto:HAVCP@eac.gov.

http://www.fsrs.gov/ accessible to recipients and non-recipients, the EAC reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to obtain, use, modify, reproduce, publish, or disseminate publications and materials produced under the award, including data, and to authorize others to do so (2 CFR §200.315).

Uniform Guidance All awards made under this Notice will be subject to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), in 2 CFR Part200.

Requests for Monitoring or Payment Integrity Information The EAC will request documentation from recipients to monitor the grantee and award to ensure compliance with legal requirements, including the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019.

Failure to make timely responses to these requests may result in award funds being placed on manual hold, reimbursement only status, or other remedies may be applied as appropriate.

EAC Terms and Conditions All awards made under this Notice will be subject to the EAC's General Terms and Conditions and the Program-Specific Terms and Conditions for the program (when applicable). These Terms and Conditions contain detailed, mandatory compliance and reporting requirements. See APPENDIX F for full Terms and Conditions.

An applicant’s failure to submit their application through Grants.gov due to late or improper registration in SAM.gov and Grants.gov will not be considered an acceptable reason to consider a late submission.

DO NOT WAIT! Register in SAM.gov and Grants.gov as soon as possible. Finalizing these registrations could take a month or more. You do not want late registration to prevent proper and timely submission of your application through Grants.gov.

Grants.gov Submission Instructions: The electronic submission of your application must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance. For more information on the registration requirements that must be completed in order to submit an application through Grants.gov, go to Grants.gov and click on "Applicants" on the top of the page and then go to the “Organization Registration” link listed under the "Get Registered" section and follow the instructions. Please note, this process can take a month or more for new registrants.

Registration requirements must be met to apply for this opportunity through Grants.gov. Applicants should ensure that all such requirements have been met well before the submission deadline. Registration on both Grants.gov and SAM.gov is FREE. Obtaining a UEI number assignment is also FREE.

https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov

FUNDING OVERVIEW

FEDERAL AGENCY: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announces the availability of $1 million dollars in discretionary grant funding to support the Help

America Vote College Program (HAVCP).

The purpose of the HAVCP Poll Worker grant is to encourage college students to assist state and local governments in the administration of elections by serving as nonpartisan poll workers or assistants, and to encourage jurisdictions to utilize these efforts.

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has developed this Applicant Toolkit to support applicants’ understanding of the EAC discretionary grant funding application process and provide guidance and resources.

For this competition, EAC seeks proposals from accredited colleges (including community colleges), universities, nonprofit organizations and state and local election offices which will assist the Commission in the continued development and implementation of the Help America Vote College Program.

Interested applicants should submit an e-mail to

HAVCP@eac.gov stating your organization’s intent to apply. This notice of intent is not required but helps us better plan the review of applications.

This assistance will be funded by the Omnibus

Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law No:

117-328) and authorized under the Help America Vote

Act of 2002 (HAVA), Public Law 107-252, Title V, Help

America Vote College Program.

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY:

Help America Vote College Program (HAVCP)

ELIGIBILITY:

Public & Private Institutions of Higher Education (Including

Community Colleges), state and local election offices, and Non-Profit Organizations.

NOTICE OF INTENT:

Email to HAVCP@eac.gov

APPLICATION DEADLINE:

Monday, December 18, 11:59 pm EST mailto:HAVAFunding@eac.gov mailto:HAVAFunding@eac.gov

Table of Contents

I. OVERVIEW OF EAC FUNDING

II. DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROCESS

III. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY Help America Vote College Program A. Eligible Applicants

B. Priority Consideration

C. National Days of Recognition and Mini-Grant Program

D. Other Requirements/Limitations

E. Cost Sharing or Matching

F. Application Deadline

G. Technical Assistance

H. Questions

I. Application Evaluation Criteria

J. Review and Selection Process

K. Reporting

IV. HAVCP POLL WORKER GRANT PROGRAM

L. Award Type & Amount

M. Period of Performance

N. Allowable Activities

O. Funding Type

P. Performance Measures

Q. System or Process for Tracking, Collecting, and Reporting Participant Data

V. APPLICATION SUBMISSION

1. Application Checklist

2. Submission Dates and Times

3. Experiencing Unforeseen Technical Issues Preventing Submission of an Application

4. Late Applications

5. Extension of Deadlines

6. Application Instructions

EAC OVERVIEW

The mission of the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is to help election officials improve the administration of elections and help Americans participate in the voting process.

The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) as an independent, bipartisan commission charged with developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. The EAC also accredits testing laboratories, certifies voting systems, and audits HAVA funds.

Other responsibilities include maintaining the national mail voter registration form developed in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

HAVA established the Standards Board and the Board of Advisors to advise the EAC. The law also established the Technical Guidelines Development Committee to help the EAC develop voluntary voting system guidelines. In 2021, the EAC established a fourth advisory committee, the Local Leadership Council.

The four EAC commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The EAC must submit an annual report to Congress and testify periodically about HAVA progress and related issues. The commission also holds public meetings and hearings to inform the public about its progress and activities.

I. OVERVIEW OF EAC FUNDING

The Election Assistance Commission Office of Grants Management (EAC/OGM) is responsible for awarding, distributing, and monitoring grant funds authorized by Congress under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The EAC awards two types of HAVA grants:

1. HAVA Formula Grants

The HAVA formula funds are awarded to states and U.S. territories for improving the administration of elections for federal office.

States do not compete for formula funding but must submit applications and meet specified requirements. Grant award amounts are calculated by a formula based on proportionate voting age population. HAVA formula grants are subject to HAVA and 2 CFR 200 with the HAVA requirements taking precedence.

2. HAVA Discretionary Grants

HAVA discretionary grants are awarded to eligible recipients on a competitive basis. Grant applications are solicited on Grants.gov and applicants are reviewed and scored based on selection criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

This toolkit focuses on discretionary grant programs, providing an overview of the competitive grant funding and application process.

Stewardship of Federal Funds

Strong candidates for federal grant funding can demonstrate they have the capacity to effectively manage awarded funds.

• Engage with subject matter experts to provide any technical or nuanced inputs and information (i.e., financial, poll worker training) to the application.

• Attend any grants and financial management training provided for new potential applicants.

• Connect with State and local resources as needed to assist with financial planning, permitting, and other approvals.

• Identify and reach out to a program’s point of contact with specific questions as they come up.

monitoring Congressional authorization and a ppropria lions processes to anticipate future EAC funding opportunities

LEG!SLA T!ON

EAC develops a discretionary fu nding program, per statutory requ irements

Check Grants.Gov and EAC.gov for release of NOFO

PRE-AWARD

EAC releases a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Select an EAC grant program that supports that projec based on prcgram eligibility crit2ria and requ irements ou tlined in the NOFO Compile an application based on program requirements

Receive decision notification of project selected for fu nding for the fisca I year

Respond to requests for follow-up information from EAC program points of contact, as needed, during applicat ion review process

EAC finalizes award decisions

EAC reviews all submitted applications and evaluates proposed projects based on stated criteria in the NOFO

AWARD

If selected, negotiate and sign a grant or project agreement with EAC

Implement the awarded project and report progress to EAC throughout the project life-cycle

POST-AWARD

EAC monitors project execution throughout the project life-cycle

EAC closes the program application window

Submit an application during indicated application window

Complete all closeout requirements and submit final fina ncial and technica I reports

EAC provides technical assistance and customer support to applicants, as needed

II. DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROCESS

The discretionary grant funding process begins with Congressional legislation and concludes with the closeout of the awarded project. The grant lifecycle is broken down into four phases: (0) Legislation, (1) Pre-Award, (2) Award, and (3) Post-Award. At a high-level, the phases include:

0. Legislation: Program authorization and funding appropriation by Congress

1. Pre-Award: Funding opportunity announcement, applicant solicitation, and application submission

2. Award: Application evaluation, award decisions, and grant recipient notifications

3. Post-Award: Project execution, monitoring, and closeout

III. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Help America Vote College Program The Help America Vote College Poll Worker Program was established in 2004, and through fiscal year

2009, distributed over $2.3 million to colleges and non-profits to recruit, train and support students serving as poll workers on Election Day.

The purpose of this grant program is to:

1. Encourage students enrolled at institutions of higher education (including community colleges) to assist State and local governments in the administration of elections by serving as nonpartisan poll workers or assistants;

2. Encourage college students to become cognizant of the elections process and civic education, and to assist in the administration of elections in their community; and

3. Encourage state and local governments to use the services of the students participating in the program.

College Student means any individual enrolled either on a part-time or full-time basis in any undergraduate, graduate, or professional college accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in the United States.

A. Eligible Applicants

EAC encourages applicants to forge robust partnerships to implement the grant and to sustain activities beyond the grant period of performance. The recommended partners for the HAVCP are institutions of higher education as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of

1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); Nonprofit Organizations, community and technical colleges and systems, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal

Colleges and Universities (TCUs); state and local election offices; and other Minority Serving

Institutions Program (MSIs) as designated by the Higher Education Act’s Title III and V funding.

B. Priority Consideration

All selection criteria and application quality being equal, EAC will give priority consideration to projects from institutions and organizations that engage historically underrepresented groups, as defined by the federal government (see Appendix D), as poll workers.

C. National Days of Recognition and Mini-Grant Program

Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to incorporate Service Day project activities that promote and utilize National Poll Worker Recruitment Day and Help America Vote Day to help elevate civic participation on college campuses.

National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, August 1, 2024, is a national awareness day established by the EAC to encourage people to help America vote by serving as poll workers.

By encouraging more people to become poll workers in their communities, National Poll Worker

Recruitment Day aims to address the critical shortage of poll workers, strengthen our democracy, inspire greater civic engagement and volunteerism, and help ensure free and fair elections.

Help America Vote Day, January 30, 2024, a second day of action created by the EAC aims to address the nationwide shortage of poll workers.

Poll workers are critical to the success of an election and provide a positive voting experience by ensuring voters receive the assistance they need at the polls. National Poll Worker Recruitment

Day and Help America Vote Day can be used to kick off recruitment efforts or supplement ongoing recruiting for poll workers in their community. Applicants of the Poll Worker program may include all service day activities in their grant application and budget.

Service Day Mini-Grants: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announces the availability 5-15 Help America Vote College Program Service Day Mini-Grants to help elevate civic participation on college campuses and inspire college students to volunteer their time and talents to help others participate in the democratic process as poll workers. The Service Day

Mini-Grant Program will allow grantees to support poll worker recruitment efforts through activities related to National Poll Worker Recruitment Day and Help America Vote Day only.

Applicants can apply for either the 2-year Poll Worker Grant Program OR the 1-year Service Day

Mini-Grant Program. Applicants requesting only Poll Worker project activities or Poll Worker and

Service Day project activities should apply to this Poll Worker Grant Program funding opportunity. Applicants requesting only Service Day activities should not apply to this Poll

Worker Grant Program funding opportunity. Rather, applicants only interested in conducting

Service Day project activities should apply to the separate Service Day Mini-Grant Program. More information on the Service Day Mini-Grant Project can be found at Grants.gov and on the EAC website at https://www.eac.gov/grants/help-america-vote-college-program.

https://www.eac.gov/grants/help-america-vote-college-program

D. Other Requirements/Limitations

Applicants may not use any part of an award from the EAC to fund religious instruction, worship or proselytizing, voter registration, get out the vote (GOTV) drives, or other political activities that could be construed as lobbying. Project funds must be used for tasks and activities carried out without partisan bias and without promoting any political point of view regarding any election issue or candidates.

Applications that propose voter registration or GOTV efforts will be considered non-responsive and will not be eligible for funding under this announcement.

Any organization described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C.

501(c)(4) that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible to apply.

The applicant nor its principals cannot be presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any federal department or agency. Federal regulations prohibit supplanting of funds, such as replacing routine and/or existing State or local expenditures with the use of Federal grant funds and/or using Federal grant funds for cost of activities that constitute general expenses required to carry out the overall responsibilities of state or local government.

E. Cost Sharing or Matching

At the time of award, applicants must demonstrate either cash and/or in-kind and “on-hand and/or commitments, or a combination thereof, to meet the required 10 percent match, based on the amount of Federal grant funds requested. Match must be met by the project end period.

Grantees may recover indirect costs under this grant up to 10 percent of the total Federal share of the grant. If an applicant has an approved federal indirect cost rate, the remainder of the indirect costs can be used as a matching contribution.

EAC encourages applicants to leverage additional resources beyond the required match to supplement grant activities. Both matching and leveraged resources can come from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to the private sector (e.g., businesses or industry associations); the philanthropic community (e.g., foundations); and the non-profit sector (e.g., community organizations or education and training institutions). Non-Federal, public-sector funds (e.g., from States or local governments) may be used for matching funds, if necessary. Federal funds from other Federal agencies are not a permissible source of match, unless specifically authorized by the award pursuant to 2 CFR 200.306.

Applicants may consult with EAC on sources of match to determine permissibility.

F. Application Deadline

The deadline for receipt of applications is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Monday, December 18, 2023.

Please submit an e-mail stating your intent to apply to HAVCP@eac.gov. This Notice of intent is not required but helps EAC better plan the review of applications.

The full application kit including: the SF-424, the SF-LLL, HAVCP Application, and Budget Worksheet must be submitted in Grants.gov by 11:59 PM ET on Monday, December 18, 2023.

EAC urges applicants to create accounts and submit their Grants.gov submissions prior to the due dates with sufficient time to correct any errors and resubmit by the submission deadlines if a rejection notification is received.

The applicant’s authorized representative must be the person who submits the application. The authorized representative must use their own Grants.gov account to sign and submit the applications. A copy of the governing body’s authorization for this official representative to sign must be on file in the applicant’s office.

Applicants should contact HAVCP@eac.gov if they have a problem when they create an account, prepare, or submit the application. Be prepared to provide the application ID, organization’s name, and the funding opportunity to which the organization is applying.

G. Technical Assistance

This funding opportunity is part of a competitive grant process. EAC will only answer direct questions pertaining to the technical aspects of submitting applications at grants.gov. All other questions should be asked during one of the live sessions listed below or through the Q&A process.

H. Questions

Submit questions to HAVCP@eac.gov.

Answers will be posted within 5 business days to the Q&A document on the EAC website. Please review the Q&A document before submitting your question to confirm that it has not already been answered.

Deadline for receipt of written questions: 5 PM on December 13, 2023.

mailto:havcp@eac.gov mailto:havcp@eac.gov https://www.eac.gov/grants/help-america-vote-college-program mailto:HAVCP@eac.gov https://grants.gov https://Grants.gov

2023 Training Calls: Calls will be recorded and posted on the EAC website.

To Register: Email HAVCP@eac.gov

Funding Overview | Tuesday, November 21 | 2:00 PM Eastern

How to Apply for the Poll Worker Program | Tuesday, November 28 | 2:00 PM Eastern

How to Apply for the Mini-Grant Program | Tuesday, November 28 | 3:00 PM Eastern

Technical Assistance Office Hours | Thursday, December 14 | 2:00 PM Eastern

I. Application Evaluation Criteria

The EAC has instituted procedures that provide for an objective review of applications and to assist applicants in understanding the standards against which applications will be judged. The evaluation criteria are based on the information required in the application. See APPENDIX D

Reviewers will award points based on the evaluation criteria described below:

Program Design/Strategy (50%)

Organizational Capacity (35%)

Budget/Cost Effectiveness (15%)

See APPENDIX B for details on Budget Worksheet and Narrative mailto:HAVCP@eac.gov

Program Design/Strategy 50% Organizational Capacity 35%

The EAC will consider the quality of the proposed design based on:

• The soundness, relevance, and creativity of the applicant’s proposed project;

• The applicant’s approach to measuring achievement of outcomes and how data collected will be used to modify and improve strategies, products, and services;

• The applicant’s approach and expertise in using innovative solutions to implement new, or expand existing efforts to increase the number of college poll-workers including efforts focused on recruiting historically underrepresented individuals;

• The extent to which the proposed program considers information found in EAC’s Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers; and,

• The scope of the project including the number of targeted college poll workers.

J. Review and Selection Process

The EAC will consider the capacity of the applicant to deliver the proposed services based on:

• Demonstrated relationships/partnerships with relevant State and local entities needed to make the project successful;

• Ability to manage a federal grant as evidenced by previous federal grants experience or similar size and complexity grant;

• Experience with managing volunteer recruitment efforts including experience working with historically underrepresented groups, as defined by the federal government, within the college student body, as appropriate for the proposed program model; and,

• Experience of the organization and staff as evidenced by brief staff biographies and other past organizational programs.

Budget/Cost Effectiveness 15%

The EAC will consider the budget based on:

• Cost-effectiveness of the proposed activities in relation to the scope of the project;

• Clarity and completeness of the budget and budget narrative; and,

• Cost sharing identified by the applicant.

The review and selection process are intended to produce a diversified set of high-quality programs that represent the priorities described in this Notice. The determinations made by the

EAC may be different from what the applicant self-determined upon submission of its application. The stages of the review and selection process follow:

Initial Application Compliance and Eligibility Review

The EAC will conduct an initial Compliance and Eligibility Review to determine if an application meets the eligibility requirements published in this Notice and advances to the next stage of the review process.

An application is compliant if the applicant:

• is an eligible organization,

• submitted an application by the submission deadline, and

• requested Federal funds in the range provided by the Notice.

Reviewing for eligibility is intended to ensure that only applications eligible for award are further reviewed. However, determinations of eligibility can take place at any point during the application review and selection process. Applicants that are determined to be ineligible will not receive an award.

Application Review

The EAC will assess the applications based on the Program Design/Strategy, Organizational

Capability, and Budget selection criteria using the scoring rubric on APPENDIX D. The EAC will also consider the priorities and strategic considerations detailed in this Notice. All staff reviewing applications will be screened for conflicts of interest.

Applicant Clarification

The EAC may ask applicants for clarifying information during the Clarification Stage of the review process. An Operational and Financial Management Survey will also be requested at this time.

The EAC staff will use this information to make funding recommendations. A request for clarification does not guarantee an award. Applicants may be recommended for funding even if they are not asked for clarifying information. An applicant’s failure to respond to a request for clarification adequately and in a timely manner may result in the removal of its application from consideration.

Pre-Award Risk Assessment

The EAC staff will assess the risks posed by applicants to determine an applicant’s ability to manage federal funds. This assessment is in addition to the Compliance and Eligibility Review and the Application Review. Results from this assessment will inform funding decisions. If the EAC determines that an award will be made to an applicant with assessed risks, special conditions that correspond to the degree of assessed risk may be applied to the award. Additionally, if the

EAC concludes that the reasons for applicants having poor risk assessment are not likely to be mitigated, those applications may not be selected for funding.

In assessing risks, the EAC may consider the following criteria:

Due Diligence:

• federal debt delinquency

• suspension and debarment

• information available through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualification or financial integrity information, such as:

• Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)

• U.S. Treasury Bureau of Fiscal Services

• System for Award Management (SAM)

• “Do Not Pay”

• Reports and findings from single audits performed under Uniform Administrative

Guidance and findings of any other available audits or investigations

• IRS Tax Form 990

• Oversight.gov

• Public Litigation Records

Operational and Financial Management:

• Financial stability

Past Performance:

• An applicant’s record in managing previous HAVA awards, cooperative agreements, or procurement awards, including:

o timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements o accuracy of data reported o validity of performance measure data reported o conformance to the terms and conditions of previous federal awards o applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on award recipients o timely closeout of other awards o meeting matching requirements o the extent to which any previously awarded amounts will be expended prior to future awards

Other Programmatic Risks:

• Publicly available information, including from the applicant organization website https://Oversight.gov

AMERICA VOTE:

BECOME

A POLL

WORKER

The EAC reserves the right to adjust or make changes to the review process, if unforeseen challenges or urgent circumstances make it impossible, impracticable, or inefficient to conduct the review process as planned. Any such adjustments or changes will not affect the selection criteria used to assess applications.

K. Reporting Recipients are required to provide federal financial reports (FFR) and progress reports (PR) semi-annually through EAC’s web-based grants management system. All reports must be accurate, complete, and submitted on time.

In addition, at the end of the award period, a grantee must submit final financial and progress reports that are cumulative over the entire award period and consistent with close-out requirements. The final reports are due 120 days after the performance period ends.

Once the grant is awarded, recipients will be expected to have in place data collection and data management policies, processes, and practices that provide assurance that they are reporting high quality performance measure data. Failure to submit accurate, complete, and timely required reports may affect the recipient’s ability to secure future EAC funding.

Financial (FFR) & Progress Report (PR) Dates Annual Semi Annual

Reporting Period End Date September 30 March 31

Report Submission Due Date December 29 April 30

FUNDING INSTRUMENT:

Discretionary Grant

ANTICIPATED

FUNDING:

$1,000,000

ANTICIPATED NUMBER

OF AWARDS:

10 - 15

MAXIMUM AWARD

AMOUNT:

$100,000

MINIMUM AWARD

AMOUNT:

$45,000

GRANT PERIOD:

2 Years

IV. HAVCP POLL

WORKER GRANT

PROGRAM

L. Award Type & Amount

EAC plans to make approximately 10-15 awards under the HAVCP Poll Worker grant. Applications that propose a federal share of the budget outside of the funding range ($45,000-$100,000) will not be as competitive as applicants that fall within the prescribed range.

Requests for funding must be commensurate with the scope and scale of the project. Applicants must propose to train a specific number of participants based on the size of the award requested and other considerations, such as the population of the proposed service area, local student population, and demand for local election workers. Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of federal funds.

If additional funds become available, the EAC reserves the right to use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this Announcement.

Note: EAC is not restricted to these projections and may deviate from the number of awards and amounts stated in this Applicant Toolkit depending upon the quality of the applicant pool.

M. Period of Performance

The period of performance is 2 years with an anticipated start date of February 1, 2024. This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up. The EAC expects grantees to begin enrolling participants no later than six months after the grant award date.

EAC strongly encourages applicants to develop their project work plans and timelines to account for this implementation phase accordingly. Grantees must fully expend grant funds during the period of performance.

N. Allowable Activities

The EAC is particularly interested in supporting programs that propose partnerships between various student and university organizations and local election officials to garner college student interest in elections and create meaningful activities for students leading up to and on Election Day. As applicants develop their proposals, they should keep in mind that a successful poll worker program should be designed to encourage participation among college students without partisan or ideological bias.

Allowable activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Salaries for Project Coordinators and assistants

• Recruitment materials such as flyers, brochures, and t-shirts

• Websites and social network strategies for marketing

• Training materials

• Community volunteer recruitment and training

• Travel expenses for students serving as poll workers on Election Day

• Surveys and analysis of participation rates, reactions, and recommendations

• Establishing operational policies and procedures that help ensure student poll workers will be used in a constructive and effective manner on Election Day

• Stipends for poll worker training and for service on Election Day

• Increase the visibility of the EAC’s National Poll Worker Recruitment Day and Help

America Vote Day through subgrants, service days, social media campaigns and other outreach activities

The eligibility requirements and responsibilities for poll workers vary across the states, and successful applicants will have proposals that reflect the realities of being a poll worker in their state/jurisdiction (See EAC’s poll worker Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers.pdf).

Depending on the jurisdiction, poll worker duties may include:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/EAC_College_Guide_Report.pdf as a Voting Equipment Technician

Helping With Sign-In or Voter Identification

Assisting Voters with Disabilities

Counting and Canvassing Ballots

Greeting and Directing Voters

Assisting With Voter Registration

Conducting Election Equipment Testing

Setting Up and Tearing Down Polling Places

Some key points about poll worker requirements for applicants to consider are:

Poll workers are required to attend training conducted by the local election jurisdiction prior to Election Day;

Most training sessions occur in the month prior to Election Day and last, on average, two to three hours;

Poll workers generally are required to be at polling locations to help set up prior to the opening of polls (sometimes before dawn) and should plan to stay at least 45 minutes after the close of polls on Election Day;

In some jurisdictions options to split a shift are available;

College poll workers may be required to remain at the polling location the entire day on

Election Day. It should also be noted that poll workers may be paid a stipend by the local election office both for attending training and for their service on Election Day. The stipends, paid by the election jurisdiction, vary widely [Note: Stipends may not be available for “poll assistants”]; and, Most states require that poll workers be registered voters in the state in which they serve;

other states require that poll workers be registered voters in the county in which they serve.

In some states, students may be exempt from registration requirements and may serve under various titles, such as assistant or interpreter.

All applicants must discuss the nature of their partnerships with education entities and local election offices in their proposals. Establishing successful partnerships is a key element of a quality program.

Successful applicants will have realistic, well-documented and substantiated plans to partner with local election officials to ensure that college student poll workers will be used constructively on Election Day.

Plans can include the use of community volunteers to help recruit and train college volunteers.

EAC is particularly interested in funding innovative outreach, communication and training strategies, including use of social media and online training for the recruitment and support of college poll workers.

EAC especially encourages applicants to focus on recruitment and use of individuals historically underrepresented as poll workers, including ethnic and language minority groups. Applicants should review and plan to use the EAC-developed model college poll worker practices and procedures, including the EAC’s Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers. Grant recipients are encouraged to use the EAC materials in executing their programs.

Applicants must provide a detailed project plan and budget that includes activities for planning, recruiting, training, and supporting poll workers for the next election cycle. The project plan should address the above stated priorities and show how the applicant will meet the performance measure requirements outlined below.

O. Funding Type

Funding will be provided in the form of a discretionary grant. EAC will authorize the Treasury

Department to disburse funding identified in the agreement through the Payment Management System

(PMS) to the applicant as an advance to be drawdown as expenses arise. Per 2 CFR §200, the timing and amount of advance payments must be as close as is administratively feasible to the actual disbursements by the non-Federal entity for direct program or project costs and the proportionate share of any allowable indirect costs. The non-Federal entity must make timely payment to contractors in accordance with the contract provisions. Grantees will be able to request payments as often as practical for their program. Cash and in-kind match expenditures require the same documentation as federal funds under 2 CFR §200. Grantees must request a drawdown of funds for incurred costs using the electronic Payment Management System (PMS). Prior to initial drawdown of funds, all Grantees must have secured online access to Payment Management System and EAC’s grants management software.

P. Performance Measures

Grant recipients will be required to report on at least three performance measures, one required universal measure and two optional measures selected by the applicant from the list below. Every recipient must report on the number of college students served (PW-1 below). Beyond this universal performance measure, each recipient should select at least two additional Performance Measures from a set of standardized capacity-building performance measures. Selected performance measures should accurately reflect grant recipients’ accomplishments, improve EAC’s ability to report on the impact of its grant programs, and standardize measures across programs where appropriate.

When selecting performance measures, applicants should also consider their proposed project design, such as geographic scope; recruitment and outreach activities; training type and length of training offered; and other factors relevant to the achievement of each performance measure. Applicants must include numerical targets for the full grant period for each of the required and selected option performance outcome measures; percent increases, or other types of data projections, are not acceptable. The standardized performance measures to select from are identified and defined in the table below. Applicants can also propose additional measures that are appropriate for their project.

HAVACP 2-YEAR GRANT

EAC Required Performance Measure (one) PW-1. Total number of college student participants served.

This performance outcome measure includes the total number of unique college student participants served during the grant period of performance.

Reporting will include the total number of college students who: (1) enrolled in training, (2) received training, (3) registered to serve as a poll worker, and (4) completed work on election day.

EAC Standardized Performance Measures (select two)

PW-2. Partnerships Developed.

Total number of partnerships established.

PW-3. Outreach plans developed and executed Number of outreach materials developed (provide counts for any used):

telephone scripts, panel discussions, poll-worker program training materials or workshops developed, promotional videos created, newsletters, social media, websites, blogs, podcasts etc.

PW-4. Social media engagement, impressions, reach, share of voice, referrals and conversions and response rate and time (cumulative 2-year total for College Program) This performance outcome measures the social media campaigns targeting college students. The EAC is looking for strong measures proposed by applicants in this category depending on what is proposed.

PW-5. Workshops, Presentations, Trainings, Conferences - number of college students served (in-person or virtual audience):

Total participants reach for live event audiences by tracking attendees via sign-in sheets, digital registrations, RSVPs, completion of pre-event surveys, etc.

Q. System or Process for Tracking, Collecting, and Reporting Participant Data

Applicants must provide specific details about the procedures for tracking performance outcome measures and other participant data such as demographic information, training provided, and describe staffing, technology, computer applications, and other resources already available to accomplish this task. Applicants should also provide a specific plan for procuring the resources needed to meet this requirement if the resources are not already possessed by or accessible to the applicant.

Applicants are encouraged to align their goals with specific activities. Sample activities may include project administration and ramp-up; partnership engagement, outreach, and recruitment; enrollment and training; poll-worker placement; and follow-up with students to track outcomes.

For planning purposes, the applicant should identify key deliverables and the timeframe for achieving each deliverable, including any milestones to indicate the progression of activities. The applicant should also provide the name of the lead or supporting institution engaged in each activity or producing each deliverable, including any partner organizations.

Poll workers are critical to the success of an election and provide a positive voting experience by ensuring voters receive the assistance they need at the polls. National Poll Worker Recruitment

Day and Help America Vote Day can be used to kick off recruitment efforts or supplement ongoing recruiting for poll workers in their community.

The EAC reserves the right to increase or decrease the total number of grants awarded or reject all applications and make no awards under this announcement. Such changes may be necessary as a response to the quality of applications received by the EAC or the amount of funds available.

If additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made, the EAC reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement consistent with Agency policy and guidance. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than nine months after the original selection decisions. Awards may be fully or incrementally funded, as appropriate, based on funding availability, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations.

V. APPLICATION SUBMISSION

1. Application Checklist

Applicants should use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package to ensure that the application has met all the screening criteria. Note that this checklist is only an aid for applicants and should not be included in the application package. We urge you to use this checklist to ensure that your application contains all required items. If your application does not meet all the screening criteria, it will not move forward through the merit review process.

Application Requirement Complete?

The deadline submission requirements are met

Eligibility requirements are met

The components of the application uploads are saved in pdf or docx format and are not corrupt. (We will attempt to open the document, but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening) Funding request is within allowable range HAVCP Poll Worker: $45,000 to $100,000

SAM Registration

SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

SF-424 includes a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

Budget Worksheet

HAVCP Application

2. Submission Dates and Times

The deadline for receipt of applications is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, December 18, 2023.

Please submit an e-mail stating your intent to apply to HAVCP@eac.gov. This Notice of intent is not required but helps EAC better plan the review of applications.

The full application kit including: the SF-424, the SF-LLL, and the Grants.gov Attachments Form must be submitted in Grants.gov by 11:59 PM ET on Monday, December 18, 2023.

Submit the following application components as uploads to the Grants.gov Attachments Form:

1. HAVCP Application – Fillable form including Project Narrative and Budget Narrative

2. Budget Worksheet

3. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)

EAC urges applicants to create accounts and submit their Grants.gov submissions prior to the due dates with sufficient time to correct any errors and resubmit by the submission deadlines if a rejection notification is received.

https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov mailto:HAVCP@eac.gov

To be considered timely, the full application must be submitted in Grants.gov by the application deadline. Failure to begin the SAM.gov, Grants.gov registration process in sufficient time (i.e., waiting until the date identified in this solicitation) is not an acceptable reason for late submission.

EAC uses Grants.gov to submit and receive applications. Applicants must ensure successful submission no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 18, 2023. Grants.gov will subsequently validate the application. The process can be complicated and time-consuming. You are strongly advised to initiate the process as soon as possible and to plan for time to resolve technical problems. Note that validation does not mean that your application has been accepted as complete or has been accepted for review by the agency. Rather, grants.gov verifies only the submission of certain parts of an application.

3. Experiencing Unforeseen Technical Issues Preventing Submission of an Application

EAC will only consider a request to submit an application after the deadline when the applicant can document that a technical issue with a government system prevented application submission prior to the application deadline. If an applicant misses a deadline due to unforeseen technical issues with

SAM.gov or Grants.gov the applicant may request a waiver to submit an application after the deadline.

However, the waiver request will not be considered unless it includes a tracking number generated when the applicant contacts the applicable service desks to report technical difficulties. Tracking numbers are generated automatically when an applicant emails the applicable service desks; and for this reason, applicants are encouraged to email the appropriate service desk, even if they also intend to call the service desk for phone support. Experiencing wait times for phone support does not relieve the applicant of the responsibility of getting a tracking number.

An applicant experiencing technical difficulties must contact the associated service desk indicated below to report the technical issue and receive a tracking number:

SAM.gov - contact the SAM Help Desk (Federal Service Desk), Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET at 866-606-8220.

Grants.gov - contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays, at 800-518-4726, 606-545-5035, or support@grants.gov.

4. Late Applications

Applications received after the deadline date and time are considered late applications and, absent extreme circumstances to be determined by the EAC, will not be reviewed. EAC will notify each late applicant that the application will not be considered in the current competition.

mailto:support@grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://grants.gov https://Grants.gov https://Grants.gov

5. Extension of Deadlines

EAC may extend application deadlines when circumstances such as acts of Nature (floods, hurricanes, etc.) occur, or when there are widespread disruptions of online service. Determinations to extend or waive deadline requirements rest with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. If extended, the new deadline will be posted at www.eac.gov and at www.grants.gov.

6. Application Instructions

The following steps and tips will assist potential applicants in completing discretionary funding applications:

1. Register with SAM or confirm that your SAM…