Bipartisan federal, state and local officials on Wednesday threw support behind Congress sending states more funds to address election challenges, such as increased mail-in voting, during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
During a Senate Rules Committee hearing on 2020 election preparations, committee Chairman\u00a0Roy Blunt<\/a>\u00a0(R-Mo.), a key player in securing the funds, said he was open to looking into giving states more election funding with low levels of required state matches.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we ought to go back and look at the money you currently have available to you, and maybe make that money more consistent in terms and times it has to be spent and give you more access to the money you\u2019ve already got in addition to trying to identify the right amount of new money,\u201d Blunt said while addressing state officials at the hearing.<\/p>\n Pressure on the Senate to approve further election funding has increased in the wake of the primary elections, during which many local and state officials ran through much of their portions of the $400 million in election funds included in the CARES Act stimulus package signed into law by\u00a0President Trump<\/a>\u00a0in March.<\/p>\n These funds came with a requirement that states provide a 20-percent match, which has become a stumbling block in states reeling from a drop in revenue due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n A further $3.6 billion for elections was included in the House-passed HEROES Act stimulus package passed in May, the amount experts have pointed to as necessary to ensure states can hold safe and secure elections during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader\u00a0Mitch McConnell<\/a>\u00a0(R-Ky.) has described the overall bill as a \u201cliberal wishlist,\u201d and said Tuesday that he plans to roll out a\u00a0GOP stimulus package<\/a>\u00a0this week. He has not yet indicated where he stands on election funds, but backed the previous $400 million.<\/p>\n