Sponsors (4)
The bill increases election resilience and voter protections during disasters through planning requirements, grants, and a statutory trigger, but does so at federal and local cost, adds administrative burdens especially for smaller jurisdictions, and risks uneven implementation and federal–state tension.
State and local election officials (and tribal and territorial counterparts) will be required/encouraged to create coordinated, documented continuity plans and coordinate across jurisdictions, making it more likely elections keep running during disasters.
Voters in disaster-affected areas get clearer, statutory protections and operational supports — including a clear trigger for special voting measures, requirements for voter education and hotlines, and focus on preventing disenfranchisement.
Provides a predictable multi-year federal grant stream ($20M/year from 2026–2030) to help states pay for resiliency upgrades, equipment, and preparedness activities, improving planning certainty for jurisdictions.
Taxpayers and federal budgets face added costs (the $20M/year appropriation plus likely state/local spending), which could increase deficits or crowd out other priorities.
Small and resource-strapped local jurisdictions, tribal areas, and some states will face substantial administrative and compliance burdens (developing, updating, publishing plans; meeting timelines; implementing triggers), risking missed deadlines or weakened election operations.
Implementation will likely be uneven across states — grants may not cover full costs and uptake will vary — producing unequal protections for voters depending on where they live.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Conditions HAVA-funded states to produce and publish disaster continuity plans, directs EAC resiliency grants, and requires a GAO study on federal support during covered major disasters.
Official title: To require certain States to submit a continuity of operations plan for elections in the event of a major disaster, to require the Comptroller General of the United States to report on assistance for election administration in the event of a major disaster, and to require the Election Assistance Commission to award grants to strengthen elections against climate change-driven disasters, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 16, 2025 by Joseph Morelle · Last progress September 16, 2025
Requires States that receive HAVA funds to prepare, update, retain, and (subject to privacy/security limits) publish continuity-of-operations plans for administering federal elections during presidentially declared major disasters that occur during a federal voting period. Creates a new HAVA section, directs the EAC to award competitive grants to states to strengthen election resilience ($20 million authorized annually FY2026–2030), tasks the GAO with a disaster/election study due September 30, 2026, and defines “covered major disaster” and “State.”