Budget 2025-26: Protect Our Vote! Support Federal Election Security Grants

Today I take pen in hand and write you on an extremely urgent matter: the budget being worked on in Congress must prioritize robust federal funding to support secure and accessible elections for all eligible voters. We know this to be need. Since Trump first came on the scene years ago, states and localities are facing unprecedented challenges in election administration, including cyber threats, misinformation campaigns targeting voters of color, declining trust in our democratic process, harassment of election officials, and new voting restrictions that complicate election operations. This means the Trump Administration is seeking to distort the vote, something we’ve never had a problem with until he and his cabal of followers and Congressional enablers came along. It’s obvious to anyone even looking casually that this is the plan to rig elections, acting on advice of other corrupt governments no doubt. At the same time, aging election infrastructure requires modernization, while critical federal resources for cybersecurity and information sharing are disappearing. To confront these challenges and protect the fundamental right to vote, I urge you to allocate — at the minimum — $825 million for Election Security Grants in the FY2026 budget. This investment matches the funding provided in 2020 and is desperately needed as officials work to ensure all eligible Americans can safely cast their ballots. With the bulk of election administration happening at the local level, I further request that two-thirds of this funding be directed to local election officials responsible for running our elections day-to-day. Robust and reliable federal funding is essential for promoting access to the ballot box and protecting the frontline workers defending our democracy. States are increasingly banning private funds for election administration, making federal support all the more crucial. There is also strong bipartisan precedent and public support for the federal government to take greater responsibility in funding elections. Protecting the right to vote is a vital government duty - I urge you to meet this obligation through significant investment in FY2026, and to oppose any cuts. Thank you for your attention to this core democratic matter.