Overview
- A group that includes Nashville, Harris County, El Paso County and Columbus filed a federal suit Monday in D.C. asking a judge to block FEMA’s new conditions and release withheld Homeland Security Grant Program money.
- FEMA’s June policy says it will withhold 20% of HSGP awards until jurisdictions show they have moved to hand‑marked paper ballots, run at least 5% manual post‑election audits and used the federal SAVE system to check citizenship for voters and poll workers.
- Plaintiffs say the agency exceeded its authority and violated the Constitution’s Spending Clause, federalism principles and the Administrative Procedure Act by imposing nationwide election rules without Congress.
- Local officials warn the policy would be costly and could jeopardize public safety funding needed for bomb robots, hazmat gear, radio networks and first‑responder training, with some counties citing millions in compliance or replacement costs.
- FEMA defends the changes as election security measures while critics point to prior findings that the SAVE database can misidentify citizens and to the looming September disbursements that make an injunction urgent.