Axios: Election Infrastructure Funding Might Come Up Short

The Election Assistance Commission has announced all 55 eligible states and territories have requested election security funds from Congress — but the allocation reportedly might not be enough.

The commission reported Monday all of the newly appropriated Help America Vote Act funds and a combined $333,921,264 were transferred into state accounts.

Four months ago, Congress allocated $380 million in additional HAVA funds to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to Axios, the $380 million is not enough, however, to upgrade electronic voting machines that do not provide a way to double check the accuracy of results.

But the cost of upgrading a portion of election infrastructure, direct recording electronic machines, would be about $500 million if not more, Larry Norden, deputy director of the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, told Axios in May.

And the head of Verified Voting, Marian Schneider, grimly added: "It's not enough for the states who need to replace their voting machines."

The outlet reported few states have shared plans for upgrading security security measures ahead of the midterms.

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