DHS to Withhold Over $1 Billion in Grants From States Over Election Security Rules

The Department of Homeland Security will withhold more than $1 billion in homeland security preparedness grant funding from states that refuse to adopt voter citizenship verification, post-election manual audits and expanded use of paper ballots, Fox News reported.

FEMA, a sub-agency of DHS, is making the funds available through its Homeland Security Grant Program to states that submit qualifying plans. To receive the grants, states must transition away from electronic voting systems that use QR codes or barcodes and instead adopt hand-marked paper ballots.

After each federal election, states must conduct a manual audit of at least 5 percent of ballots cast and match the number of participating voters with the number of ballots. Within 120 days of any grant award, states must also use the SAVE database to verify the citizenship of every listed voter.

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that threats to election systems continue to evolve and that Secretary Markwayne Mullin has made critical infrastructure protection a top priority.

The spokesperson said the requirements will preserve election integrity and ensure Americans can trust the results. The announcement follows a court ruling that blocked a separate Trump administration effort to obtain voter records. An Obama-appointed federal judge in Pittsburgh sided with Pennsylvania after the Justice Department sued more than 25 states seeking records that included Social Security numbers.

Judge Cathy Bissoon ruled that the federal government lacks authority to demand highly sensitive state information. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt offered a redacted version of the Pennsylvania voter file without the sensitive data. He told the Justice Department that such broad collection represents a concerning attempt to expand the federal government’s role in the country’s election process.