States Fight Federal Plan to Tie Disaster Grants to Election Rules

A coalition representing 25 states and the District of Columbia is asking a federal court to stop the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA from tying access to part of a major homeland-security grant program to state election practices.

The lawsuit was filed July 23, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The plaintiffs include 24 state attorneys general, two governors and the District of Columbia. They argue that DHS and FEMA exceeded their authority by conditioning access to counterterrorism, emergency-preparedness and public-safety money on election requirements that Congress did not expressly attach to the grants.

What the federal grant notice requires

The dispute centers on the FY 2026 Homeland Security Grant Program notice of funding opportunity, which was updated July 9. Under the notice, FEMA will withhold from drawdown an amount equal to 20% of each state’s and high-risk urban area’s total HSGP award until the recipient submits proof of compliance with the election-security requirements and DHS verifies that proof.

The 20% provision is a holdback, not a permanent cut. The notice says the withheld funds may be released after compliance is verified. It is also separate from a different rule requiring at least 3% of State Homeland Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative funds to be spent on election-security investments. Meeting the 3% spending requirement alone does not release the 20% holdback.

The challenged conditions include a transition plan for jurisdictions using electronic voting systems that use bar codes or QR codes to count votes. The plan must move toward equipment that accepts hand-marked paper ballots. States also must provide proof of a post-election manual audit covering at least 5% of ballots and voter-to-ballot reconciliation using a methodology established by the DHS secretary.

The notice further requires states to use the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, known as SAVE, or another authorized government system to verify the citizenship of people listed in state voter-registration databases within 120 days of accepting the grant award. It also requires citizenship verification for people working at polling places and people operating election systems.

Why public-safety agencies are involved

The states’ complaint says the conditions put money for emergency management and public safety at risk. The filing describes HSGP-supported activities including first-responder capabilities, cybersecurity, bomb squads, mutual-aid networks, disaster planning and security projects. The funding therefore reaches beyond election offices.

The complaint says the plaintiff states were allocated more than $740 million in FY 2026 HSGP funds. That would place at least $148 million under the 20% holdback provision, although the filing does not establish that FEMA has already withheld that amount.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office said the coalition is challenging the conditions under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s Spending Clause. Those are the plaintiffs’ legal theories; the lawsuit is not a court ruling, and the court has not yet determined whether the conditions are lawful.

What happens next

The filing does not itself invalidate the grant conditions. The federal court must decide whether to issue emergency relief or otherwise restrict the requirements while the case proceeds.

The timing matters because states are preparing for the November 3, 2026, midterm elections while also working through the grant process. If the conditions remain in place, states and high-risk urban areas could face pressure to change voting-equipment plans, audit procedures, voter-roll verification systems and election-worker checks to preserve access to the full awards.

The case also raises a broader question about federal spending power: how far agencies may go in using grant conditions to influence state policy in an area that is not expressly tied to the underlying funding program. For now, the election requirements remain conditions in the FY 2026 federal grant notice, subject to the ongoing court challenge.

Sources

• FY 2026 Homeland Security Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity
• Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
• Reuters report on the lawsuit