House Republicans want to slash funds for election security

This week, Republican leaders on the House Appropriations Committee proposed significant cuts to federal funding aimed at enhancing the security of election infrastructure across state and local governments. The appropriations bill would deny a $96 million request from the Biden administration intended for grant funding through the Help America Vote Act, which has historically provided federal dollars for updating voting machines, training workers, and strengthening election system security since 2002.

Additionally, the bill allocates only $20 million to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the federal agency responsible for managing these grants and setting voting machine standards—$114 million less than the requested amount for fiscal 2025 and $7.7 million below the 2024 funding level.

The measure, advanced by a party-line vote in the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, is part of broader federal spending cuts proposed by House Republicans, which include substantial reductions to the IRS and policy riders concerning abortion and climate regulation disclosure by the SEC.

During the markup session, Democratic Subcommittee Ranking Member Steny Hoyer of Maryland criticized the lack of bipartisan cooperation in the appropriations process and expressed doubts about the bill’s viability, citing Democratic control of the Senate and the White House. Advocacy groups continue to report that U.S. election administrators are severely under-resourced, despite repeated requests from the White House for billions in election security funding—only $75 million was allocated last year. Despite these proposed cuts, an official from the EAC reassured that there is no panic within the agency, confident that the bill is likely to be blocked by Congressional Democrats.

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