Issue Brief 18-12
April 4, 2018
Summary 

A grant program that was created in response to the contentious presidential election of 2000—and concerns that state election systems were badly in need of updating—has been resurrected in the wake of new concerns about potential foreign intervention in U.S. elections. Specifically, the recently signed omnibus appropriations act for fiscal year (FY) 2018 (P.L. 115-141) provided $380 million for Election Security Funds, as authorized by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA; P.L. 107-252). This brief summarizes the election assistance program and lists state awards.