Feds tie counterterrorism grants to election security measures
ByChris Teale,
Managing Editor, Route Fifty
July 15, 2026 04:00 PM ET
The new guidance from FEMA would require states to take various steps on elections before receiving funds. Government groups criticized the move as an overreach.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced late last week that states must implement various election security measures before they can receive homeland security grants.
In its funding opportunity for the $1 billion Homeland Security Grant Program, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, its parent agency, said states would need to take what FEMA called “critical, common-sense steps to protect U.S. elections,” to receive any funds.
Those steps include submitting a plan for transitioning away from electronic voting systems that use bar codes and QR codes to count votes and onto equipment that uses hand-marked paper ballots. They also would be required to manually audit at least 5% of...
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