The Election Assistance Commission on Tuesday released most state budget data for Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants, which revealed that a majority of the $380 million in grant money is being devoted to cybersecurity and new voting equipment.
EAC found that 36.3 percent of funds will be spent on cybersecurity among 41 states, and 27.8 percent of funds will be spent on new voting equipment in 34 states. Other categories include voter registration systems (13.7 percent of funds), post-election audits (5.6 percent), and election related communications (2 percent).
“Just five months after Congress appropriated these vital funds, states and territories have money in the bank and new plans in place to protect the security, accessibility and efficiency of federal elections,” said EAC Chairman Thomas Hicks.
The grants were approved in March in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, and are the first new appropriations under HAVA since 2010. States and territories are required to match HAVA’s grants with at least a five percent match, leading to a total of nearly $400 million in additional funding for election security. States and territories will report back in December on the use of funds and the progress from these grants.