Homeland Security Mandates New Election Security Measures; Threatens to Withhold Federal Funding

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is implementing new requirements for states seeking federal funding through the Homeland Security Grant Program. These measures, totaling over $1 billion in taxpayer funds, are designed to bolster election security nationwide by demanding specific actions from recipients to safeguard election integrity. The announcement from DHS emphasizes that these steps are crucial for protecting against evolving threats, including foreign interference, insider threats, and cyberattacks, and are considered essential for maintaining public trust in election outcomes.

“Election security is national security and protecting the Nation’s critical infrastructure is a top priority,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking decisive action to protect election systems from threats like foreign interference, insider threats, and cyberattacks. These new requirements for homeland security grant recipients will preserve election integrity and ensure that Americans can trust the results.”

To qualify for these federal grants, states and other eligible governmental entities must commit to several key actions. A primary mandate involves developing and submitting a plan to transition away from electronic voting systems that rely on barcodes and QR codes for vote tabulation. Instead, these jurisdictions must adopt equipment capable of accepting hand-marked paper ballots. This shift is intended to establish a verifiable paper trail, which will facilitate easier verification of election results and the detection of any potential irregularities. Following federal elections, states will be required to conduct manual audits of at least 5% of all cast ballots. This audit process will involve a physical review of a random selection of ballots to ensure that the results recorded by machines accurately reflect the counts on the paper ballots, thereby confirming accuracy and identifying any machine errors or manipulations.

Another critical requirement is the reconciliation of the number of voters participating in federal elections with the total number of ballots cast. This measure aims to ensure a direct correlation between voter turnout and ballot counts, enabling jurisdictions to identify discrepancies before certifying election results. Furthermore, within 120 days of receiving a grant award, states must utilize the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system to confirm the citizenship status of all individuals listed in their voter registration databases. This measure is intended to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote. A similar requirement mandates the use of the SAVE system, or an equivalent authorized government system, to verify the citizenship of any individual involved in working at polling places or operating election systems, thereby enhancing the security of election administration personnel. It is important to note that for individuals registered to vote where citizenship records are unavailable, states may resolve this by submitting relevant information to USCIS for an immigration records search. FEMA will retain 20% of a grant recipient’s total award until proof of compliance with these new mandates is submitted and verified by the Department. These grant programs are voluntary, requiring applicants to agree to the terms and conditions of the funding.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Video Spotlight