Released: September 12, 2011 - FVAP News # 12
FVAP RECOMMENDS GRANT RECIPIENTS, AWARD DISCUSSIONS TO BEGIN SHORTLY
September 12, 2011 — Arlington, Va. – The evaluation of applications under the Broad Agency Announcement H98210-BAA-11-0001 for the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) grants program have been completed and award recommendations have been transmitted to the Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA) Grants Officer. Discussions with the recommended grant recipients will begin shortly.
Last May, DoD announced the availability of $16,200,000 in federal funding to support research to advance the electronic options for military and overseas citizens when voting absentee. U.S. State, territory, and local governments were eligible to apply for the grants.
In 2008 the number one failure for military and overseas voters was in ballot transmission (FVAP’s Eighteenth Report to the Congress). Local election officials receiving voted ballots reported they did not count numerous uniformed services and overseas civilian ballots because they were received after the deadline. Greater online access and automation of voter registration and absentee ballot systems could make the UOCAVA voting process easier, more intuitive, and more seamless for UOCAVA voters.
Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) Director Bob Carey said, ―FVAP continuously researches how to improve these UOCAVA ballot acceptance rates. One way to improve the success rates of voted ballots is to research the technology used by the voters. These grants give the States a chance to test technologies to learn what helps military and overseas voters most.‖
Grant applicants with further questions regarding the grant award process should send them in writing by electronic mail to Bob.Lavelle@osd.pentagon.mil.
If you’d like more information on the Federal Voting Assistance Program or need help with the absentee voting process please go to www.fvap.gov or contact the FVAP at 703-588-1584 (toll free 1-800-438-VOTE) or email the program at VOTE@FVAP.GOV.