DHS just issued new requirement that all state/local gov receiving FEMA grants have to adhere to following election requirements: must get rid of voting machines that use barcodes/QR codes to count ballots; audit 5% of cast ballots; verify citizenship of all registered voters
FEMA will withhold 20% of a recipient’s total grant awarded under the Homeland Security Grant Program until they submit proof that they have complied with these requirements and DHS verifies the proof that they submit.
There will be a lot of outcry about Trump admin trying to control elections with this new directive, but I should point out that at least two of these are things election integrity activists have been wanting for years - eliminate bar codes on ballots and make audits more robust
The audit of 5% of ballots is a manual-audit requirement -- meaning states can't just rerun ballots through a second voting machine and call it an audit, as some states currently do. They must manually recount 5% of the ballots
This doesn't mean the administration *isn't* trying to control elections, but I just wanted to point out that these two requirements specifically are things that can actually improve the integrity of elections - that is, if the audits are done properly. Devil is in the details
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