FEMA required states and high-risk urban areas to devote at least 3% of certain homeland security grants to election security, but attached a much larger consequence to its election rules: 20% of a recipient’s entire Homeland Security Grant Program award could not be drawn down until the government confirmed compliance.
A federal judge blocked that arrangement Monday, ruling that FEMA lacked authority to condition counterterrorism funding on the disputed election-administration requirements, according to Reuters.
The distinction between the two percentages is spelled out in FEMA’s own FY2026 Homeland Security Grant Program notice.
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The 3% minimum required states and Urban Area Security Initiative recipients to dedicate that portion of their SHSP and UASI funding to eligible election-security investments. But FEMA separately said it would withhold 20% of the recipient’s total HSGP award, including State Homeland Security Program, Urban Area Security Initiative, and Operation Stonegarden funding, until DHS verified compliance.
“Meeting the 3% allocation does not, by itself, release the 20% holdback,” FEMA’s notice states.
The broader Homeland Security Grant Program has $1.064 billion available for FY2026, including $394.25 million for SHSP, $584.25 million for UASI, and $85.5 million for Operation Stonegarden. FEMA describes the programs as intended to strengthen state and local capacity to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to terrorism and other threats.
Access to the withheld funds depended on more than spending 3% on election protection. FEMA required jurisdictions to submit plans to transition away from voting systems using barcodes or QR codes toward equipment accepting hand-marked paper ballots.
Recipients also had to demonstrate a 5% manual post-election audit, reconcile voter participation with ballots cast, check voter-registration databases through the federal SAVE citizenship system, and verify the citizenship of election workers and people operating election systems.
The administration said the requirements were intended to protect election infrastructure from threats including foreign interference and cyberattacks. Reuters reported that US District Judge Amir Ali concluded Congress had not authorized FEMA to use the terrorism-preparedness grants to require those election-administration reforms.
The magnitude of the holdback was also new. Federal Funds Information for States reported that FEMA withheld 3% of HSGP awards in FY2025 pending compliance with three election-related actions. For FY2026, that figure increased to 20%, alongside a broader set of requirements.
The ruling came in a lawsuit involving Nashville, Columbus, and counties in Texas. A separate challenge by a coalition of states remains pending, Reuters reported.
