Funding U.S. Elections is a Bipartisan Imperative to Secure Our Democracy

Evolving cyberthreats, lies and conspiracy theories, and a lack of resources have all made the job of administering elections in the United States a dramatically different one compared to a decade ago.The dedicated officials and poll workers who run our elections have had to overcome many challenges to meet the increased demands of administering elections that are safe and secure.

Thanks to their hard work, the 2022 midterms unfolded smoothly and were well received by the public. However, a relatively quiet 2022 does not mean we can assume the same in 2024. In December 2022, Congress showed that it can act in a bipartisan way to secure our democratic republic. It passed critical legislation to update the Electoral Count Act, closing a loophole governing how Congress counts electoral votes in presidential elections — a flaw that was exploited after the 2020 election. But far more is needed to secure our elections in 2024 and beyond. Election officials across the political spectrum have sounded the alarm regarding chronic and severe resource shortages for elections in the United States. While Congress has stepped up to provide some election funding at key moments over the past two decades, it has largely shirked its responsibility to fund our critical election infrastructure. The vast majority of the responsibility for funding elections has instead fallen on state and local governments. Election officials from across the political spectrum have had enough — and they are calling loudly for Congress to cut the politics out of the issue and ensure regular, predictable, and sustainable federal funding of elections to aid preparedness for the next generation.

As part of an interview series with election officials who make up Issue One’s Faces of Democracy campaign, we heard from them why federal funding is needed to secure and modernize our elections. Below are their insights.?

The Importance of Funding: Insights from Election Officials

Carly Koppes (R), clerk and recorder in Weld County, Colorado, emphasized the significant responsibility election officials bear in ensuring the smooth operation of the democratic process and why federal support is necessary, stating, "We are running their elections for them. We are running the U.S. House of Representative elections. We are running the U.S. Senate elections. We are running the presidential elections."

Additionally, Koppes emphasized the importance of adequate funding in combating false information. "More funding right now would be so important because we need to focus on getting the correct information out there and battle these people who have larger microphones than I do," she said.?

Cathy Darling Allen (D), county clerk and registrar of voters in Shasta County, California, shares Koppes’ view on the broad support these local officials offer the federal government. “We are subsidizing the federal government at the local level every election. If you look at ballot real estate, we have an enormous amount of real estate that will be taken up next year on locally printed, locally generated, locally paid for ballots,” she said. “It is only right and fair that the feds should pay their fair share.”

Dustin Czarny (D), democratic election commissioner for Onondaga County, New York, recently joined Issue One for a week of election funding advocacy on the Hill. He spoke about appropriating funds to guarantee further protections against threats and harassment toward election workers. “The good news is I think that protection for election workers is something that all of the parties that we met with felt was very important. There is a bipartisan coalition building for anti-doxxing laws and for protections against retaliation.”?

Our Faces of Democracy members have shared stories, like many election workers, of the harassment they have endured both on and off the job. These threats are driving experienced professionals to resign in droves.?

Justin Roebuck (R), county clerk and registrar of deeds in Ottawa County, Michigan, emphasized the need for a systemic investment in election infrastructure to address funding gaps and ensure the security and efficiency of our elections. "One of the real challenges we face now is because we’re in a situation where election administration has been chronically underfunded," he said. “We also have some other real needs that are very practical and related to the security of our election process."?

The insights from these election officials shed light on the critical role of funding in ensuring the integrity, accuracy, and efficiency of our elections. As they emphasize, the administration of elections in a modern democracy like the United States requires sufficient resources that address fast evolving challenges like what we’re seeing today with AI.?

By prioritizing election funding and ensuring resources flow down to the local level where election administrators need it the most, we can increase public confidence in our elections systems, and ensure that every eligible voter can participate in our democratic system. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to put politics aside and fund our critical election infrastructure.

To read more on funding solutions and investment into our election infrastructure, check out our report created in partnership with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, “Securing 2024: Defending US Elections through Investment and Reform.”?