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We must invest in local election offices today in order to preserve the security, access, and safety of the elections of tomorrow.

Overview

In the US, elections are managed at the local level. Which means every single local election office has the responsibility to ensure all eligible voters can safely and securely participate in our democracy.

While the Constitution leaves it to individual states to run and regulate elections, Congress is charged with allocating the resources local election offices need to keep offices open and the elections they run secure, accessible, and fair.

It is imperative for the federal government to pay their fair share for utilizing local election resources, particularly when biannual federal elections are the costliest for local election officials to administer due to their higher turnout and longer ballots.

Why Federal Funding is Needed

Countless interviews, surveys, and reports have demonstrated that local election offices across the country are facing severe resource constraints. Local election offices need help with digital resiliency, maintaining accurate voter databases, voting equipment, adequate facilities to store and utilize equipment, and permanent and temporary staff to process voter registration forms and tabulate ballots.

With rising costs, dynamic foreign threats to election security, and an evolving policy landscape for election administration, sufficient federal funding for elections is a key step to ensure the security, accessibility, and accuracy of US elections.

The Time to Invest in Election Security is Now

It is clear that, when faced with new challenges, local election officials are rising to the occasion and providing Americans with safe, secure, and impartial elections. In order to equip local election officials with the tools they need to continue to safeguard our elections, Congress, as authorized under Title I Section 101 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, should appropriate $400 million for Election Infrastructure in Fiscal Year 2025. 

These funds will allow election administrators to better prepare for the 2024 federal election and beyond. With these funds they’ll be able to make staffing plans, upgrade or replace voting machines to ensure best-practices, and improve in-house technology and cybersecurity preparedness plans. Reliable, consistent federal funding will allow local election officials to plan ahead for improved facilities, make accommodations for voters with disabilities, and employ better technology and quality staff to improve the speed and accuracy of the tabulation of results.

THE URGENT ASK: Congress must appropriate
$400 million for Election Infrastructure in Fiscal Year 2025.