# Congress debates sharp cuts to election security funding amid voting restrictions push  
**Published:** 2026-06-03T12:36:36.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/congress-weighs-cuts-to-states-already-insufficient-election-security-dollars/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/congress-debates-sharp-cuts-to-election-security-funding-amid-voting

As Congress considers sweeping new voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections, lawmakers are simultaneously moving to slash funding for the federal agency responsible for helping states secure their election systems, a contradiction that election officials and Democrats say undermines election integrity.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee in April approved legislation that would cut the Election Assistance Commission's overall budget from $23.86 million to $17 million, while slashing the agency's [election security grant program](https://www.eac.gov/grants/election-security-funds) from $45 million to just $15 million. The cuts mark a dramatic reversal from previous years when Congress allocated $380 million in 2018 and $425 million in 2020.

The proposed cuts come as President Donald Trump and Republican allies push the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to present proof of citizenship when registering and photo identification at the polls. Supporters say the measure is needed to combat noncitizen voting, though research shows such cases are extremely rare.

"If my colleagues truly cared about protecting our elections from foreign interference, they'd put the resources behind it," Rep. Sanford Bishop, a Georgia Democrat, said at a [House Appropriations Committee hearing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApqbGl3b4b0) this spring. "Instead, we get empty rhetoric, zero urgency, while putting the right of citizens to vote at risk."

Since Congress created the election security grant program in 2018 following Russian interference in the 2016 election, funding has declined sharply. After $75 million in both 2022 and 2023, appropriations dropped to $55 million in 2024 and just $15 million last year. The $45 million approved for 2026 represents only about $250,000 per state, according to congressional testimony.

The grants have funded technology upgrades including cybersecurity improvements, physical security enhancements at polling locations and efforts to combat voter misinformation. Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat who helped create the EAC in 2002, warned the cuts would leave states "without critical resources to secure their voting systems and adopt the latest in voting technology and best practices."

The House bill represents an early step in the appropriations process. The Senate could eliminate or alter the proposed cuts before lawmakers reach final agreement through a conference committee. In past years, House Republicans have proposed similar reductions to election security funding that were later abandoned.

The debate reflects broader disagreement over election security priorities. The [SAVE America Act](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-weighs-cuts-states-already-insufficient-election-security-dollars) passed the House in February but has stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition and skepticism from some Republicans. Meanwhile, election officials have testified they face rising threats and need more federal resources, not less, to protect voting infrastructure as the midterms approach.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/congress-weighs-cuts-to-states-already-insufficient-election-security-dollars/)
- [U.S. Election Assistance Commission election security grants page](https://www.eac.gov/grants/election-security-funds)
- [News From The States reporting on election security funding debate](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-weighs-cuts-states-already-insufficient-election-security-dollars)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/03/repub/congress-weighs-cuts-to-states-already-insufficient-election-security-dollars/.