1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

The President’s Threat to Withhold Homeland Security Funds to Control State Elections Is Illegal and Must Be Condemned   I am writing to you as your constituent because I believe what is happening right now demands your voice, and your silence would be a disservice to every person in this district who depends on you to defend their rights. CNN reported today, based on internal Department of Homeland Security documents, that the Trump administration is threatening to withhold 20% of federal homeland security grants from any state that refuses to comply with the administration’s demanded election reforms. These grants — totaling over $1 billion — were created after September 11 to protect our communities from terrorism and prepare for disasters. Diverting them as political leverage over state elections is not just wrong. It is an abuse of executive power. The Supreme Court made clear in South Dakota v. Dole (1987) that federal grant conditions must be genuinely related to the purpose of the grant and cannot cross the line from encouragement into compulsion. There is no legitimate relationship between anti-terrorism preparedness funding and dictating how states conduct their elections. This administration has already been blocked by the courts once for this exact kind of grant coercion. Legal experts expect the same outcome here — but the damage to our democratic institutions happens long before any court rules. Among the mandated reforms is requiring every state to run its entire voter rolls through a federal immigration database called SAVE. Today — this very day — U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan struck that database down, ruling that the federal government had “knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.” The record shows why: in Boone County, Missouri, more than half of voters flagged by SAVE as potential noncitizens were U.S. citizens. In St. Louis County, roughly 35% of those flagged were naturalized Americans. In a Texas county, a quarter of the so-called “non-citizen matches” were people who had already proven their citizenship. The administration now wants to punish states that refuse to use a tool a federal court just declared unlawful. This is not a partisan matter. The administration of elections is a constitutional responsibility of the states — not the White House. Using post-9/11 anti-terrorism money to override that authority is an illegal overreach, and it deserves to be called exactly that. I am asking you to take three clear steps: 1. Issue a public statement this week condemning the use of homeland security funds as coercion against state election administration. 2. Call for immediate congressional oversight hearings into the legal basis and constitutionality of these grant conditions. 3. Go on record defending the constitutional principle that states — not the executive branch — administer elections. Your constituents are watching. I will be sharing your response — or your silence — with others in this community. This is the moment to stand up. Respectfully, A Concerned Constituent