What happened
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to tie anti-terrorism grants to election security requirements. Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) exceeded its authority by conditioning Homeland Security Grant Program funds on changes to election administration.
The ruling means that FEMA cannot withhold 20 percent of grant funds from states and high-risk urban areas that do not implement certain election security measures, including verifying voter citizenship, checking the citizenship of poll workers, and using hand-marked paper ballots. The judge also vacated the requirement for a 5 percent post-election manual audit and reconciliation of voters with ballots cast.
The plaintiffs in the case, including local governments in Texas, Tennessee, and Ohio, had sued FEMA after the agency issued a notice of funding opportunity in June that included the election security requirements. The judge's decision is seen as a setback for the Trump administration's efforts to improve election security ahead of the midterms.
The underlying grant program provides around $1 billion annually to help state and local governments prevent and respond to acts of terrorism. The judge's ruling does not affect the overall program, but rather the specific conditions that were attached to the grants.
