12 January 2020 — 0721 mst

By Corey Stapleton

A few weeks ago, on the winter solstice, federal legislation was signed into law which provides $3.1 million to Montana for Elections. We have five years to spend the money, else it reverts back to the U.S. Treasury.

This money is similar to an additional $3 million we received a couple years ago, and traces its authorization origin to 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) money. HAVA money has fundamentally changed the way our nation funds elections, centralizing certain aspects which had previously been done by the 50 states.

Of course, with federal money comes strings attached! Montana has to put up a twenty percent match, and we have to spend the money (officially called “Election Security Grants”) on things like enhanced election technology, security improvements, and generally improving the administration of Montana’s federal elections. More to follow.

We’ll update you over the next few months, as our office has to submit a budget and ‘program narrative’ to the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) by April 27, 2020.