Senate Republicans left out funding for mail-in and early voting during the COVID-19 pandemic in their stimulus bill rolled out Monday, prompting backlash from Democrats, election officials and advocacy groups.<\/p>\n
With less than 100 days to go before Election Day, these officials are concerned that without a new injection of federal funds, state and local officials facing budget shortfalls may struggle to carry out safe and secure elections that ensure every American can vote.<\/p>\n
The concerns come as the pandemic has upended the primary process, leading most states to postpone their contests, while results in a handful, including New York, have been delayed by a surge in mailed-in ballots.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t in anyone\u2019s budget, no one budgeted for a pandemic, and you can see state and local budgets are cratering, they don\u2019t have funding to put into this, and certainly it\u2019s going to be a challenge,\u201d Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Chairman Benjamin Hovland, who was nominated by\u00a0President Trump<\/a>, told The Hill Tuesday.<\/p>\n