King, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Elections

Press Release

U.S. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, is cosponsoring legislation aimed at strengthening election administration across America. The Sustaining Our Democracy Act would provide $20 billion in mandatory federal funding over the next decade to help states and local governments support election administration, including the training and recruitment of nonpartisan poll workers and election officials and increasing access to voting in underserved communities.

"Elections are the foundation of America's democracy -- but these fundamental democratic systems don't run themselves," said Senator King. "Holding an election takes significant investments of time, money, and personnel, which is why the federal government must ensure that state and local governments have the tools they need to administer safe, effective elections. I strongly support this legislation's efforts to improve the election security -- particularly cybersecurity -- while expanding voter access, and urge the Senate to pass this bill swiftly."

This legislation would provide funding to:

Improve efficiency in the administration of federal elections;
Secure election infrastructure, including upgrading voting equipment and voter registration systems, expanding voter registration and nonpartisan voter outreach activities, securing voting locations, expanding polling places and the availability of early and mail voting, and promoting cybersecurity;
Recruit, train, and retain nonpartisan election officials and poll workers;
Protect election officials from threats against them in the course of their work administering Federal elections; and
Increase access to voting in federal elections for underserved communities, voters with disabilities, racial and language minority groups, military and overseas voters, and voters residing in Indian lands.
In order to qualify to receive the funds, states and certain local governments would be required to submit a plan detailing how the state intends to distribute resources and carry out election activities. The legislation would also prevent states from using funds in a way that may diminish the ability of eligible voters to vote.

Senator King has been one of the Senate's most outspoken voices for the need to increase voter trust and promote access to the ballot for all registered voters. In October 2021 he delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor urging action on voting rights, stating that we are currently "at a hinge of history" that will determine the future of the American experiment in self-government. He built on these arguments in a speech from the Senate floor where he called for reforms to the filibuster to allow for common sense voting rights legislation to pass. In addition to the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Senator King cosponsored Senator Jon Ossoff's (D-Ga.) Right to Vote Act, which would establish a first-ever statutory right to vote in federal elections -- protecting U.S. citizens from laws that make it harder to cast a ballot. He also recently introduced a discussion draft of his Electoral Count Modernization Act to establish clear, consistent, and fair procedures for the counting and certification of electoral votes for the presidency.

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