The Department of Homeland Security will withhold billions in preparedness grant funding from states that refuse new election security rules. FEMA is making more than $1 billion available through the Homeland Security Grant Program, but states must change how they verify voters and count ballots to qualify.
Those conditions include voter citizenship verification, post-election audits, and expanded use of paper ballots. Within 120 days of any grant award, states must use the SAVE database to verify the citizenship of every listed voter in the state.
Homeland Security Grant Program rules
States seeking the money must submit plans to move away from voting systems that use QR codes or barcodes instead of hand-marked paper ballots. After each federal election, they must conduct a manual audit of at least 5% of all ballots cast and match the number of voters who participated with the number of ballots cast.
The Department of Homeland Security said election systems continue to face threats from foreign interference, insider threats and cyberattacks. A DHS spokesperson said, "Under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking decisive action to protect election systems from threats like foreign interference, insider threats, and cyberattacks" and added, "These new requirements for homeland security grant recipients will preserve election integrity and ensure that Americans can trust the results."
Capitol Hill and SAVE
The funding conditions arrive as Senate Republicans push to pass the Save America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration. President Donald Trump has urged the GOP effort, and Democrats oppose the bill.
Chad Pergram reported live from Capitol Hill on the debate, while Kayleigh McEnany also figures in the coverage surrounding the fight over voter-roll audits and election rules. DHS is tying preparedness money to the same kind of verification demands that are already at the center of the broader dispute.
States now face a practical choice: accept the grant conditions and build the transition plans DHS is requiring, or forgo the funding. The leverage is immediate, because the grant money is available now and the compliance steps are written into the award terms.
California vote tabulations
The article cites California as a place with slow vote tabulations, reflecting the broader resistance DHS is confronting over audits and verification. Which states will refuse the requirements and how quickly DHS will withhold the money is not answered.
