2018 HAVA Election Security Grant Program Narrative State of Nebraska July 6 2018 As outlined by Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale in his letter to the U S Election Assistance Commission on May 31 2018 Nebraska has solicited feedback from a number of sources in creating the initial priorities for its 2018 HAVA Election Security Grant funds The total amount of the grant is $3 496 936 and will be spent over the next five years The Secretary of State office’s internal HAVA working group has met weekly staff attended regional and biannual meetings of the County Clerks and Election Commissioners to discuss the Election Security Grant In addition the Secretary of State convened a meeting of the Nebraska Election Systems Task Force which is comprised of county election officials as well as voter advocacy groups to solicit feedback on this narrative The Secretary of State will amend this narrative when the state match funds are appropriated by the legislature or if changes in priorities are identified Both the federal funds and the state matching funds when appropriated will be held in interest bearing accounts All interest on these balances will be reported as program income on the Federal Financial Reports In addition these funds will be held in the state’s Election Administration Fund and subsequently spent on allowable activities described in section 101 of HAVA The grant funds will be used to improve the administration of elections for Federal office including to enhance election technology and make election security improvements in the following areas 1 Voting Equipment Replacement and Upgrades Nebraskans take pride in their paper-based election system Paper ballots significantly reduce the possibility of election tampering and are the failsafe against malicious actors seeking to change the results of an election The state’s current ballot counting equipment and ADA ballot marking devices were purchased in 2006 with initial HAVA funds and are nearing the end of their life cycle The amount of funds Nebraska received will not be sufficient for replacement of our entire election tabulation system However due to the aging of Nebraska’s election equipment the Secretary of State will use funds for timely replacement of voting equipment in the event of failure In addition funds will be used in the preparation of an RFP to purchase the next generation of voting equipment in Nebraska 2 Voting Registration Systems and Management The Election Security Funds will be used for the Statewide Voter Registration System in the following areas A Two-Party Authentication Prior to the 2018 General Election the Secretary of State will implement a two-party authentication process for the Statewide Voter Registration System The Secretary of State collaborates with our 93 county election offices on voter registration This effort will ensure 1 that in the event that any individual user’s credentials are compromised the system will remain secure because the tokens institute and require a newly generated code in order to access the system This will enhance security of the voter registration system B Voter List Maintenance Efforts One of the more important ways that Nebraska can strengthen its security is improving the accuracy of the voter rolls Nebraska already matches its list to the National Change of Address list from the U S Post Office and routinely checks the list against death and felon records To further improve these efforts Nebraska will join a collaborative list maintenance service Funds will be used to pay membership fees and mailing costs associated with a list maintenance service C Voter Registration System Enhancements The Secretary of State as well as our local election officials have requested enhancements to the Statewide Voter Registration System to provide efficiencies and enhance reporting Funds will be used to pay for change orders to our vendor for enhancements to the Statewide Voter Registration System 3 Cyber Vulnerabilities The Election Security Grant Funds will be used for Cyber Vulnerabilities in the following ways A Documentation of Policies and Procedures Third party vendors will be hired to consult provide analysis and prepare documentation relating to strengthening our internal security and operational policies and procedures B Cybersecurity Scans and Testing Cybersecurity consultants will be hired to conduct scanning and penetration testing of our election vendors and to provide guidance and direction to existing IT staff to implement additional security measures C Albert Monitors Funds will be used to install and maintain Alberts Monitors in critical areas in Nebraska to monitor suspicious activity in real time with the assistance of the Elections Infrastructure – Information Sharing Analysis Center EI-ISAC 4 Communications Training The Election Security Grant Funds will be used for training in two different areas 2 A Training for Election Division Staff Employees will be sent to various conferences and trainings sessions to expand election administration knowledge and stay current on election security issues B Training of County Election Officials Members of the Elections Division will travel the state to provide training at county and regional meetings of county election officials Additionally statewide and regional training conferences will be hosted to ensure that our county election officials are staying up to date on election security Elections Division staff will also provide one-on-one training with individual counties as necessary These training sessions will allow new county employees to get proper training of the election systems as well as provide our seasoned officials with refresher training 5 Resources for Voters with Disabilities The Secretary of State will directly purchase supplies for our local election officials to accommodate voters with disabilities and offer modifications to polling sites to maintain ADA compliance In addition The Secretary of State will investigate the cost viability and proven success in other states for online programs offered by known and established vendors that provide secure early voting ballot delivery systems that enable voters with disabilities the ability to mark a ballot and return the ballot to their local election office The office will also investigate each system for compatibility for use with the early ballots of overseas citizens and military personnel 6 Election Night Reporting The Secretary of State will purchase air-gapped computers and printers for each of our counties that use reporting software to tabulate election results This purchase will allow counties to construct the tabulation reports and results on a computer that is not connected to the internet The new process will allow for a comparison between the report and the results that are ultimately uploaded to the Secretary of State’s Election Night Reporting Website This additional security step will allow for an election results file that cannot be tampered with prior to upload and provides a secure file for reference in case issues arise 3 CFDA # 90 404 Budget Information Name of Organization Non-Construction Program Nebraska Secretary of State Budget Period Start 3 23 2018 Budget Period End 3 22 2023 SECTION A - BUDGET SUMMARY a Voting Equipment BUDGET CATEGORIES Consolidated Budget for total project term-up to 5 years as defined by grantee FEDERAL NON-FEDERAL FUNDS Match c Voter Registration Systems b Election Auditing PROGRAM CATEGORIES d Cyber Security e Communications Training f Resources for Voters with Disabilities g Election Night Reporting 1 PERSONNEL including fringe 2 EQUIPMENT $ $ 1 040 000 00 $ 22 000 00 $ 3 SUBGRANTS- to local voting jurisdictions $ 4 TRAINING $ 5 All OTHER COSTS $ 10 000 00 6 TOTAL DIRECT COSTS 1-6 $ 1 050 000 00 $ - $ - 1 050 000 00 $ - 7 INDIRECT COSTS if applied 8 Total Federal Budget $ $ 807 000 00 $ 703 936 00 $ 807 000 00 $ 725 936 00 $ 250 000 00 807 000 00 $ 725 936 00 $ 1 050 000 00 $ 13 Percentage By Category 30% Proposed State Match 0 0% - $ 0% A Do you have an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement approved by the Federal government or some other non-federal entity If yes please provide the following information B Period Covered by the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement mm dd yyyy-mm dd yyy C Approving Federal agency D If other than Federal agency please specify E The Indirect Cost Rate is 807 000 00 $ 23% No 725 936 00 $ 21% 1 062 000 00 - 2 184 936 00 250 000 00 $ 500 000 00 $ 164 000 00 $ 3 496 936 00 250 000 00 $ 7% 500 000 00 $ 14% 164 000 00 $ 164 000 00 $ 5% 0% 62% 164 000 00 $ 500 000 00 $ 30% 7% 500 000 00 $ 250 000 00 $ 0% 250 000 00 $ $ - $ $ $ % Fed Total $ 11 Non-Federal Match 12 Total Program Budget TOTALS 3 496 936 00 3 496 936 00 0%