Grant Programs
In 2011,2013, and again in 2023, FVAP offered research grants to states and localities to research improving services provided to military and overseas voters. The Effective Absentee Systems for Elections (EASE) grants have the goal of increasing the percentage of ballots successfully returned by voters covered by the FVAP administered Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)The resulting data from the grant programs will help to identify and improve the true nature of the entire voting experience for military and overseas voters.
Please note the electronic transmission of voted ballots is not funded through these grant programs.
Grant Authority
States and localities are well suited to test different tools and systems to better understand and overcome the obstacles faced by military and overseas voters. Under the authority of section 6304 of title 31, U.S.C., FVAP established the EASE research grant program under legislative direction to conduct one or more pilot projects to test the feasibility of new election technology for the benefit of UOCAVA voters. We are able to test a wider range of election technologies more quickly and examine a greater number of solutions through research grants to states and localities than we could through DoD-administered research initiatives.
EASE Grant Program
In 2011 and 2012, FVAP awarded a total of $25.4 million to 35 states and localities to research technological improvements for military and overseas voters through our first competitive grant program. The EASE research grant program included tools for online ballot delivery, online voter registration, automated ballot duplication, online ballot requests, and online ballot tracking. The goal of the research grant program was to evaluate the effect that innovative technologies have on the ballot return rate for military and overseas voters.
EASE 2 Grant Program
In 2013, FVAP awarded a total of $10.5 million to 11 states and localities to explore technological improvements for military and overseas voters through our second research grant program. The EASE 2 research grant program focused on two specific areas: online ballot delivery tools and single point of contact for the transmission of election materials in state election offices. These research areas studied the effect of centralizing the responsibility of sending and receiving election materials to and from military and overseas voters as well as further evaluate the effect of blank ballot delivery on the voter success rate.
EASE 3 Grant Program
In 2023, FVAP awarded more than twelve million dollars in grant funding directly to 17 states and localities administering elections to reduce failure rates for UOCAVA voters and establish and maintain a pipeline of ideas, techniques, and best practices for election officials nationwide as they serve these voters. The grantees will use the funds to establish and operate successful, sustainable, and affordable electronic tools to improve the electronic transmission of outbound (blank) ballots sent from election offices to voters, track outbound mailed ballots, and encourage the use of digital signature verification like the Department of Defense Common Access Card on election documents.
