Democrats call for $5B in election security grants in upcoming budget

Democratic senators are calling for $5 billion in election security grants in a letter sent to President Biden on Tuesday.

Led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the senators urged for funding to be included in Biden’s fiscal 2023 budget, citing the historic 160 million Americans who voted in the 2020 elections.

While the senators said the election was the “most secure in American history,” rebuking far-right conservative claims that it was rigged, the group said $50 billion is needed over the next decade for election administration and security.

“We must continue to help both state and local election officials modernize their voting equipment, improve the administration of elections, and strengthen cybersecurity for election systems,” the letter reads.

The letter was also signed by Sens. Richard Durbin (Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Tim Kaine (Va.), among others, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who causes with the Democrats.

Senators also said they were working on legislation to “provide election officials a reliable stream of funding to make ongoing improvements to election administration.”

“While funding is not a substitute for Congress passing comprehensive legislation to protect the freedom to vote and stop the ongoing attacks on our democracy, we must ensure that state and local election officials continue to receive the resources needed to administer, improve, and modernize our elections,” the senators wrote.