Winona Times and Carroll County Conservative: Congress must fund election infrastructure
As the Mayor of North Carrollton, Mississippi, a very rural town, I am familiar with the issues impacting our residents. The reality is that it’s not always easy to get funding for small towns. During elections, I heard several stories about administrators working in buildings that lacked heat and electricity. This demotivates citizens from working as public servants and serving our nation to ensure every vote is counted.
Currently, there is $400 million allocated in the FY2023 budget for election infrastructure – but like many things, it’s not guaranteed. We need to ensure this funding is protected across the country. Once the funding is secured, it can be used in an array of ways to address pressing administrator needs at the polls. This includes, but is not limited to, computers compatible with current operating systems; physical spaces that have heat, electricity, and the space for both employees and voters; to as simple as supplying the stations with office supplies such as paper, pencils, and stamps.
The $400 million would be dispersed across the country, creating standardization of our election system, and providing our administrators and public servants with what they need to carry out a safe and secure process. This funding is needed in rural communities like mine, now more than ever, because we are often overlooked when we need it the most. Too many of our elected officials cannot access essential resources for successful election administration – which is disappointing.
Mayor Ken Strachan, Mississippi