President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year includes $10 billion over a decade to help state and local election officials upgrade IT assets, improve their cyber and physical security and hire personnel.
The funding would be meant to ensure that elections are conducted “commensurate with the improved access and security that voters expect and deserve.”
The proposal would also establish a dedicated funding stream for improvements to election administration. The White House’s budget proposal notes that previous rounds of funding have come on an ad-hoc basis.
In 2018, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission parceled out $380 million in grants after it was learned that Russian-linked hackers attempted to penetrate election officials’ computer networks during the 2016 election. And in 2020, a federal coronavirus relief package included $400 million to help states cover a sudden and major expansion of absentee voting.
The $1.5 trillion federal spending package signed into law earlier this month included just $75 million for election administration assistance.
Source:
Comments