Democrats urge DHS to release $39.6 million for election security before midterms

Senator Alex Padilla of California and Representative Joseph Morelle of New York, both ranking members of committees that supervise elections, sent a formal request to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting CISA director Nick Anderson. Their letter calls for the reinstatement of more than $39.6 million that Congress allocated in the FY 2026 DHS appropriations bill for a suite of election-security initiatives.

Central to their concern is the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which after funding cuts in March 2025 shifted to a paid-membership model that many under-resourced jurisdictions cannot afford. The lawmakers highlight escalating cyber-espionage and disinformation campaigns by state actors such as Iran, Russia and China, and note that advances in artificial intelligence are accelerating the discovery of software flaws.

They also reference recent sophisticated attacks on U.S. water infrastructure and U.K. nuclear facilities. Padilla and Morelle contend that the failure to restore the funds jeopardizes the integrity of the November midterm elections and erodes trust among local election officials.