A group of 33 senators called on President Biden to include election security grants worth five billion dollars in the administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget request.
The Election Assistance Commission would distribute such grants to state and local government agencies to help them improve the administration of federal elections, modernize voting equipment and beef up cybersecurity for election systems, the lawmakers wrote in a Tuesday letter to the president.
“One analysis published last December found that over the next decade approximately $50 billion would be needed for election administration and security,” the letter reads.
A group of secretaries of states and chief election officials cited the analysis and requested the federal government to allocate $5 billion in election security grants for the next fiscal year.
The lawmakers said they are committed to pursuing bills to provide a “reliable stream of funding” to help election officials to continue to improve election administration.
“While funding is not a substitute for Congress passing comprehensive legislation to protect the freedom to vote and stop the ongoing attacks on our democracy, we must ensure that state and local election officials continue to receive the resources needed to administer, improve, and modernize our elections,” they added.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., were among the letter’s signatories.
