Election officials have long lifted up the need for robust, consistent funding for secure election administration. In 2020, funding from the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the federal government helped election departments make critical investments that were needed to successfully administer a safe, trustworthy process.

Since the November 2020 election, CTCL has engaged in a range of evaluative work to understand the impact of our grantmaking. We’ve collected just shy of 2,500 grant reports, and we also contracted an independent evaluator who led in-depth research interviews with 90 partners, the majority of whom were local election departments that received 2020 grant funding.

Through this data collection, and in countless debriefs with election officials and other experts, we’ve heard that robust, consistent funding is the most critical need election departments have today, and the lack of adequate, predictable funding is perhaps the greatest barrier election officials face in doing their best work.

CTCL has always been committed to supporting election officials in overcoming barriers to administering professional, inclusive, and secure elections. Again, we’re listening to the data and we’re excited to share that CTCL, in partnership with the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, is launching the Election Infrastructure Initiative.

The Election Infrastructure Initiative (EII) is a nonpartisan, collaborative effort that’s bringing together election officials, nonprofits, counties, cities, and states who believe that election infrastructure is some of our nation’s most critical and should be funded appropriately. Together, we’re calling on Congress to invest $20 billion at the state and local level to meet the need for securing and modernizing election infrastructure over the next decade. And we’re advocating for two-thirds of the funding to go directly to local election departments, with the one-third allocated to state election offices.

“Physical security is just as important as cybersecurity yet often overlooked in election administration,” said Grace Wachlarowicz, retired Director of Elections for the City of Minneapolis. “Our budget has little or no funding for capital investments needed to secure critical election materials that are deployed to the polls, as well as before and after each election. We are stretched in our ability to expand building capacity, replace aging equipment, or acquire the necessary equipment. Funding from Congress would allow us to make substantial improvements in these areas.”

You’re invited to visit ModernizeOurElections.org to learn more about EII, add your name to the letter to Congress, and share with election officials and others in your network.

We’re grateful to election officials who make democracy happen for all of us. Local election infrastructure is critical infrastructure, and it’s time we fund it that way.