The National Disability Rights Network sent a letter to Senator Collins (ME) and Senator Bennet (CO) thanking them for urging Congressional Leadership to allow the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to waive the requirement that states must provide a 20 percent match for the $400 million in election assistance grants included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The $400 million in new election funding included in the CARES Act will support election administrators in ensuring a safe and accessible election in context of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Congress must modify the requirement that the EAC can only award this funding to states that provide a 20 percent match. The COVID-19 pandemic has added unexpected costs to already exhausted state budgets and the 20 percent match requirement would further limit many states from receiving this new, critical, election funding and therefore the match requirement must be eliminated immediately as we continue to prepare for the November 2020 election.
