Secretary of State Jim Condos Awards $23,000 in Grants to Vermont Towns – Grants are Awarded to Improve Access to Voting in Vermont

November 2, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Secretary of State Jim Condos announced that over $23,000 in grants were awarded to 5 municipalities to help them to continue to meet the mandates of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which was signed into law on October 29, 2002. HAVA provides opportunities for municipalities to improve the administration and access to elections in Vermont. As Vermont’s chief election officer, the Secretary of State oversees this process.

“The timing of this funding was planned to coincide with rebuilding after tropical storm Irene,” Condos said. “Two of the towns awarded had storm related damage. We plan to issue another request for proposals in the future and hope more towns will take advantage of the funding.”

This year’s grants, in amounts of up to $10,000, will be used by municipalities to improve accessibility to polling places used for both primary and general elections. Funds may be used for improvements such as paving parking areas, building ramps, and improving lighting.

For more information on the Help America Vote Act, go to the Secretary of State’s website at http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/hava.html.

2011 HAVA Awards

Panton $5,000 Pave parking area and entryway

Lincoln $1,000 Build catch basin and upgrade culvert

Putney $2,607 Automatic door openers

Huntington $10,000 Replace ramp, fix drainage in parking lot

Salisbury $4,698 Exterior and interior lighting

TOTAL $23,305

Secretary of State Jim Condos has over 20 years of elected public service, including 18 years of local government, and 8 years as a Vermont State Senator, in addition to more than 30 years of private sector business experience.

Source: Secretary of State