LWVUS joins call to include funding for election administration in budget bills

The League joined civil rights and voting advocacy organizations calling for inclusion of $20 billion for election administration in Congressional budget bills. The ask reinforces needs highlighted by over 300 local election officials, mayors, and Secretaries of State in letters highlighting the need for election infrastructure funding.

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker

United States House of Representatives

1236 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy

Minority Leader

United States House of Representatives

2468 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Chuck Schumer

Majority Leader

United States Senate

322 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Minority Leader

United States Senate

317 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy and Leader McConnell:

As civil rights and voting advocacy organizations, we write to urge your support of critical election infrastructure funding in the funding packages Congress will consider this summer.

Earlier this month, over 300 local election officials, mayors, and Secretaries of State sent bipartisan letters highlighting the need for election infrastructure funding. As the individuals and leaders closest to the administration of fair and secure elections, they have collectively called for federal support in meeting the immense needs they face. We write to add our voices to that important ask.

Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. As you know, we stand firmly in support of Congress’ ongoing efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to the ballot. We believe that sufficiently funding election infrastructure will be essential to implementing these policy changes. Elections are one of America’s most locally-run tasks, administered by local officials who commit long hours to ensuring that elections are fair and secure. Election officials are often required to make difficult decisions due to inadequate funding—such as consolidating polling places, using outdated technology, or hiring fewer staff. These funding barriers most significantly impact communities of color and lower income communities, make voting more difficult for citizens, and make our elections less secure.

In early 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as part of the federal government’s Critical Infrastructure Sector. A federal investment in election infrastructure would be in line with Congress’ support of other Critical Infrastructure and would provide our local election officials with the resources they need to administer reliable, secure, and accessible elections for years to come.

We urge Congress to allocate $20 billion for election infrastructure funding this year.

Sincerely,

See Attached Letter for Full List of Signatories