State officials push for more election funds
A group of Democratic senators and bipartisan secretaries of state from across the nation on Thursday piled pressure for Congress to include funding to help states grapple with holding elections in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a phone call with the press, Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), and Chris Coons (Del.) stressed the need to send states at least $2 billion to implement increased mail-in voting, expand early voting and hire and train younger poll workers less vulnerable to the virus.
Wisconsin primary fallout: They argued this was particularly important following the Wisconsin primary this week, during which voters were forced to vote in-person following a 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court that the state would not be allowed to count absentee ballots mailed in after Election Day. The decision led to long lines and confusion at some polling places in the state.
“Our goal today is to finally generate real, bipartisan support in the Congress for safe voting so our country does not see another grotesque spectacle like we did this week in Wisconsin,” Wyden said.
The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package signed into law by President Trump already gave states $400 million for elections, which also included a requirement for states to match the funds by 20 percent.
But in the face of mounting concerns around elections, state officials said they needed more, and pushed for the 20 percent match to be removed due to lower state revenues. They urged Congress to includes these efforts in the next coronavirus spending bill.
“The $400 million appropriated for election administration in the last relief package… it’s simply not enough,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) told reporters. “While the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for federal funding, it also reminds us that we should not wait for a crisis to adequately invest in our election infrastructure and systems.”
Some Republicans in favor: The secretaries of state of almost ten other states, including Republicans, joined Padilla in calling for more funds, though they disagreed on whether the funds should be sent to states along with mail-in voting requirements.
