New Biden Budget Would Make Critical Investments in Local Election Departments

New EII Poll Finds Strong, Bipartisan Support for the Kind of Robust Investments in Local Election Departments Proposed by President Biden

CHICAGO -- The Election Infrastructure Initiative, which was launched by the Center for Tech and Civic Life and Center for Secure and Modern Elections has released a statement applauding President Biden for investing in election departments in his new budget.

The budget proposes $10 billion over 10 years for state and local election departments – up from $75 million in the most recent omnibus budget. 

“When we launched the Election Infrastructure Initiative nearly a year ago, our ask was simple: $20 billion in federal funding over 10 years for state and local election departments. Since then, the cost of everything from paper ballots to staffing and mail has only surged,” said Tiana Epps-Johnson, executive director for the Center for Tech and Civic Life. “Our recent polling shows bipartisan support for federal funding for local election officials. President Biden is showing leadership and making the case that we must invest in state and local election departments. He’s right and Congress should follow suit.”

According to a new national survey from Data for Progress, 69 percent of likely voters nationally agree that lawmakers should invest in election infrastructure to give election officials the resources to make voting accessible and secure. Support was strong across all parties, with 69 percent of Republicans supporting investments. 

The polling found strong support from voters for Congress to allocate funding so that their local election departments have the basic tools -- including secure internet access (76 percent), at least one permanent employee (58 percent), physical and cybersecurity systems (76 percent), reliable voting machines (70 percent) and mail equipment (60 percent). View the polling memo here. 
According to a recent study from MIT, public spending on election services ranks near the bottom, about the same as what local governments spend on parking facilities.

The Washington Post recently reported, “Election officials and voting experts are now warning as the midterm elections get underway that new funding is needed to avoid significant problems in November.” Additionally, according to the Associated Press, many election departments are still running elections on outdated Windows 7 software — a consequence of the chronic lack of consistent funding.

The Department of Homeland Security in 2017 officially designated election infrastructure as “part of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector.” DHS noted that election infrastructure “is vital to our national interests, and cyberattacks on this country are becoming more sophisticated, and bad cyber actors – ranging from nation-states, cybercriminals and hacktivists – are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous.”

Unfortunately, despite the designation from DHS, the federal government does not consistently fund local election departments.  

The Election Infrastructure Initiative (EII) has estimated election funding needs at $53 billion over 10 years. That includes $49.3 billion needed for election administration and operations, $1.8 billion needed to replace antiquated voting machines, $935 million needed to update statewide voter registration systems, $256 million to bolster post-election audits and $999 million for cybersecurity improvements and maintenance.

Previously, EII rallied a bipartisan group of state and local officials from around the country called on Congress to allocate $20 billion in funding to local and state election administrators for secure election infrastructure over the next 10 years.

The Center for Tech and Civic Life is a nonpartisan nonprofit harnessing the promise of technology to modernize the American voting experience. We connect Americans with the information they need to become and remain civically engaged, and ensure that our elections are more professional, inclusive, and secure.

The Center for Secure and Modern Elections is dedicated to advancing pro-voter policies at the state level that modernize the voting process and ensure that every American, whether they are Republican, Democrat, or Independent, can have their voice heard.