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1 1 (July 8, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveikr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con grasslanad Research Service Informing the legislitive debate since 1914 S Updated July 8, 2022 Election Security: States' Spending of FY2018 and FY2020 HAVA Payments Congress has provided funding in response to efforts to interfere with U.S. elections. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141) included $380 million for payments to the 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA; 52 U.S.C. §§20901-21145), for example, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-93) and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103) provided $425 million and $75 million, respectively, for HAVA payments to those jurisdictions and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Spending data for FY2022 funding was not yet available as of tis writing, but this In Focus offers an overview of recipients' spending of the HAVA funding provided by the FY2018 and FY2020 consolidated appropriations acts (generally referred to hereinafter as the FY2018 HAVA payments and FY2020 HAVA payments). The In Focus starts by summarizing how recipients initially proposed using the funds, how the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected some of those plans, and how much of the funding recipients have reported spending to date. It then introduces some issues related to the availability of funds and the timing of spending and reporting. Information about spending of the FY2018 and FY2020 HAVA payments may be relevant both to Members who are interested in oversight of the FY2018 and FY2020 funds and to Members who are considering further funding for similar purposes. It might help inform decisions about whether to provide additional funding, for example, and, if so, whether or how to specify conditions for its use. Initial Spending Plans Funds for the FY2018 and FY2020 payments were appropriated under provisions of HAVA that authorized funding for certain general improvements to election administration (52 U.S.C. §§20901, 20903-20904). The explanatory statements accompanying the FY2018 and FY2020 spending bills highlighted five specific election security-related uses to which recipients may apply the funds: * replacing paperless voting equipment; * implementing postelection audits; * addressing cyber vulnerabilities; * providing election officials with cybersecurity training; and * instituting election cybersecurity best practices. Funding recipients were asked to submit plans for use of the payments to the agency charged with administering the funds, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Much of the planned spending they reported in those initial submissions was on the specific election security measures highlighted by the FY2018 and FY2020 explanatory statements. Some of the proposed spending included transitioning to voting systems that produce voter-verifiable paper records, for example, or researching or conducting postelection audits. Many of the spending plans also included training-related spending, such as hiring election security trainers and running tabletop exercises that simulate real-world security incidents, or spending on cybersecurity upgrades or best practices, such as conducting penetration tests of state election systems and acquiring tools to protect those systems against distributed denial-of- service (DDoS) or ransomware attacks. Other spending proposals included plans to fund other types of election security measures, such as improvements to the physical security of election board facilities or grants to county election officials to address physical vulnerabilities. Some states also proposed spending on activities that may not be focused specifically on securing elections, such as conducting general voter outreach, improving polling place accessibility, or implementing automatic or online voter registration policies. Adjustments in Response to C OVI D-9 Some states adjusted their spending plans in response to COVID-19. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced challenges for the administration of elections in the 2020 election cycle, such as increased demand for mail voting and greater difficulty recruiting poll workers for in- person voting. Efforts to address such challenges can come with additional costs. Some election officials had to purchase new equipment to process the increased volume of mail ballots, for example, or upgrade their databases to enable voters to request ballots online; hire more temporary workers to process mail ballots and ballot requests; buy cleaning supplies and protective equipment for polling places; or offer additional poll worker training and voter education. Congress provided $400 million specifically for COVID- 19-related election expenses in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136), but the FY2018 and FY2020 HAVA payments could also be applied to some of the new costs. According to guidance from the EAC, the FY2018 and FY2020 HAVA funds-as well as some other funding previously appropriated under HAVA-could be used to cover certain elections expenses incurred as a result of the pandemic.

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