El Paso County and Harris County on Monday sued the Department of Homeland Security alongside communities in Tennessee and Ohio over new requirements for federal grants that they argue undermine election security and public safety.
In June, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it would withhold 20% of DHS’ Homeland Security Grant Program funds unless grantees complied with five requirements that would shift how local officials conduct their elections. The new requirements include a mandatory transition from voting machines that accept QR and bar codes to ones that take paper ballots, conducting manual ballot audits and running voter registration through DHS’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, better known as the SAVE system.
The SAVE system has repeatedly been flagged for misidentifying voters as noncitizens, however the Trump administration has nevertheless pushed for its use amid false claims that millions of noncitizens are registered to vote. In late July, Texas’ Secretary of State’s Office directed county officials to reinstate some of the 2,724 registered voters who were flagged as potential noncitizens by the SAVE system.
The counties and cities suing argued in their petition that implementing the requirements would cost millions and make their elections less secure, while placing roughly $200 million in grant funds at stake nationally.
“Implementing these onerous changes will require Plaintiffs to expend staff time and budgetary resources, and doing so in the hurried manner that the federal government seeks will undermine the sound administration of elections,” the suit read.
For Harris County in particular, the suit notes that a switch to paper ballots could push election officials into running afoul of state law, which requires counties to finish counting regular ballots within 24 hours of the polls closing.
The DHS grant, which cities and counties for decades have used to fund preparation and response materials for terrorist attacks and other security threats, is administered through FEMA. The counties also argued that withholding funds could jeopardize the safety of cities that rely on specialized training and supplies paid for by the grant.
“Local election offices already face some of the toughest oversight and requirements designed to keep their operations safe and secure,” El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said in a statement. “Imposing additional requirements is both costly and burdensome, while our law enforcement agencies rely on this funding to purchase critical equipment that helps protect and save lives.”
The suit also argues that DHS lacks the authority to condition grant funds on changes to local election procedure without congressional approval. Monday’s filing follows a similar suit in July from a coalition of Democratic states over DHS’ requirements with similar concerns.
In a statement, a FEMA spokesperson said concerns over election security “made it clear that action is required” and that “partisan” pushback on the requirements was anticipated.
“We fully expected opposition to common-sense measures designed to protect election security and safeguard the integrity of American democracy,” the statement said.
DHS has required federal grant recipients to explain how they will use funds for election security since 2023, but did not ask recipients to make changes to their election procedure, the suit said. The petition was filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia.
