Page:Election Assistance Commission—Use of Grant Funds for Security Services.pdf/2

 In accordance with our regular practice, we contacted EAC to seek additional factual information and its legal views on this matter. EAC responded with its explanation of the pertinent facts and legal analysis.

BACKGROUND

Congress assigned EAC responsibility for administering grants to states to improve the administration of federal elections. The funds at issue here were appropriated to EAC in fiscal years 2018 and 2020 for activities “to improve the administration of elections for Federal office... as authorized by” section 101 of HAVA. In turn, section 101 of HAVA authorizes states to use grant funds for the purpose of "[i]mproving the administration of elections for Federal office."

In September 2021, the Colorado Department of State asked EAC whether it could use HAVA grant amounts to pay for physical security services and social media threat monitoring. The Colorado Department of State asserted that election officials cannot effectively perform their duties if they feel their safety is in jeopardy and, furthermore, that additional security protections were necessary to prevent

Page 2