U.S. Election Assistance Commission

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has awarded grants to 14 institutions of higher education and one nonprofit organization to recruit students to serve as poll workers in the 2010 federal election.

Following is the list of grantees and their award amounts. The programs are notable for their partnerships with local election offices, outreach to culturally diverse and bilingual students, and ability to reach large student populations. Additional information about the recipients is available on the EAC Web site.

* Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, $40,800
* Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois, $55,385
* Central Connecticut State University, Hartford, Connecticut, $32,107
* College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California, $59,200
* Harris-Stowe State University, St. Louis, Missouri, $43,433
* Keystone College, La Plume, Pennsylvania, $39,996
* Kids Voting of Central Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, $84,000
* Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, $58,868
* Lourdes College, Sylvania, Ohio, $34,783
* Marshall-Wythe Law School Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, $63,700
* Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, $38,037
* Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, $46,480
* Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts, $30,211
* University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, $61,000
* University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, $62,000

The grant program, known as the Help America Vote College Program, is administered by EAC, a federal agency established by Congress in 2002 to provide assistance to states in the administration of federal elections.

Including this year's grantees, EAC has awarded 89 grants worth a total of $3.1 million to recruit and train college poll workers since the College Program was established in 2004.

Reports of poll worker shortages are not uncommon during election season. According to EAC's Election Administration and Voting Survey, 46 percent of jurisdictions across the country reported having difficulty recruiting poll workers during the 2008 election cycle.

Information about past College Program recipients and grant amounts is available at eac.gov/program-areas/grants. EAC has also developed the Guidebook for Recruiting College Poll Workers.

EAC is an independent commission created by the Help America Vote Act. EAC serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form. The three EAC commissioners are Donetta Davidson, chair; Gracia Hillman and Gineen Bresso. There is one vacancy on the commission.