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Secretary of State Lays Out Plans for CARES Act Voting Funds

In a letter to the acting executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla revealed high-level plans for how the state could spend new CARES Act emergency funding on IT to assist in the 2020 elections, and discussed priorities.

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California is seeking its full entitlement of federal money from the recent federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to help it prepare for the Nov. 3 general election and it seems clear some of that funding will likely be spent on IT.

In a letter April 14 to Mona Harrington, acting executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and provided to Techwire, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the state is asking for “the full $36,293,345 awarded” to it and will use that money to respond to coronavirus in this year's federal elections.” Here’s how states could use the more than $475 million in new Help America Vote Act (HAVA) emergency funds approved this spring, and how California envisions spending its share:

• The total amount of HAVA funding nationwide was $479,519,999 according to an analysis by e.Republic’s* Digital Government Navigator, a subscription-based market intelligence tool. Its potential IT uses included spending on laptops and mobile IT equipment; improving the physical and cybersecurity of elections; purchasing voting equipment including high-speed or central count tabulators; and signature comparison hardware or software. The funding could also go toward buying ballot tracking software or to upgrading state or local databases to enable online absentee, mail ballot requests or changes of address.

• Padilla told Harrington his office has engaged a working group with more than 100 local elections officials and stakeholders to brainstorm on delivering “safe and accessible” elections during the pandemic. In an email to Techwire, Padilla’s Press Secretary Sam Mahood characterized the working group as “more of a table for discussion between elections officials and advocates to identify areas of consensus and disagreement and provide recommendations to the governor and Legislature” on changes to the November elections.

The funds, Padilla said, will be used statewide to offset additional costs associated with the pandemic, including expanding vote by mail; encouraging voters to verify their registration statuses online through the My Voter Status site; encouraging online registration and re-registration; and expanding the use of vote-by-mail tracking with the “Where’s my ballot?” tool.

The additional costs include mailing, printing, postage, staffing, equipment, outreach, connectivity and facilities.

A recent Budget and Policy Post from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) showed the funding’s general path from federal to state and local governments and pointed out that a percentage of the money will likely go to the state’s 58 counties. In fact, the LAO said, much of the funding will be “allocated directly to local governments,” but some funding will pass through the state.

The EAC hasn’t issued California its funding yet, but Mahood said that’s expected to happen this week. Once that happens, he said, officials will need to secure legislative approval and authority through their budget process, and they’ll need to issue contracts to counties.

In order to receive the federal monies, California must also contribute a 20 percent match, or roughly $7.26 million. Mahood said the state has two years to make those funds available, and they must be for coronavirus-related expenditures incurred in conjunction with 2020 federal elections. Officials are still evaluating how to make the match, but Mahood said it’s anticipated a portion of that will come from “costs already incurred for the primary, the special election and planning for November.”

• The secretary of state said easy access to “no-excuse” vote-by-mail ballots “is the standard in California” and officials will work to increase that ability while “improving the safety of voting in-person … .” He said the state must maintain as many in-person voting opportunities as possible “while protecting the health of voters, poll workers and elections personnel.”

“In-person voting is essential,” Padilla wrote, particularly for voters with disabilities, those with no history or experience in voting by mail, or for those who need language assistance.

*e.Republic is the parent company of Techwire.

Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.