Thank you for your interest in learning more about the Center for Tech and Civic Life, its programs, and impact. We invite you to explore some key resources below.
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Mar. 21, 2024 FY24 Congressional Budget Preserves Funding for Local Election Departments
Mar. 11, 2024 Biden Pushes for Critical Federal Investments in Local Election Departments With FY25 Budget
Feb. 21, 2024 U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence Releases Voluntary, Nonpartisan Communications Standard for Public Comment
Oct. 6, 2023 U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence Releases Voluntary, Nonpartisan Pollworker Standards for Public Comment
Sept. 30, 2023 Continuing Resolution: A Modest Temporary Lifeline for Democracy
Aug. 3, 2023 U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence Releases Nonpartisan Values to Help Drive Improvements to the Voting Experience
July 13, 2023 Senate Committee Makes Improvements in Federal Election Funding With New Budget Proposal
June 22, 2023 House Committee Zeroes Out Federal Investments in Election Departments With New Budget Proposal
June 1, 2023 U.S. Alliance for Election Jurisdiction Adds New Secure Storage Facility With Alliance Program Grant
March 9, 2023 Biden Continues to Fight for Federal Investments in Local Election Departments With New Budget
Dec. 20, 2022 Stunning: Congress Ignores Bipartisan Coalition That Sought Funding Increase for State and Local Election Departments
Nov. 23, 2022 U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence Announces Finalists for 2023 Program
July 28, 2022 Senate Budget Includes $400 Million in Funding for State and Local Election Departments
May 19, 2022 Election Infrastructure Initiative Applauds New Bill to Fund State and Local Election Departments
May 6, 2022 Deadline Extended to Join the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence
Apr 11, 2022 Center for Tech and Civic Life Launches the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence at TED2022
Mar 28, 2022 New Biden Budget Would Make Critical Investments in Local Election Departments
Mar 18, 2022 New Polling and Ads Show Strong Support for Federal Investment in State and Local Election Departments
Mar 11, 2022 California Local Election Officials Unite and Sign Open Letter Seeking Federal Funding Help for Elections
Mar 10, 2022 New Omnibus Budget Fails to Invest in Election Infrastructure
Dec 14, 2021 New Report Finds That More Than $50 Billion is Needed to Modernize and Run State and Local Elections Infrastructure
Dec 13, 2021 New Letter From Secretaries of State Seeks Funding for Local Election Administration
Sept. 10, 2021 As Congress Continues Budget Work, New Letter From 14 Secretaries of State Asks For Funding for Local Election Administration
Aug 11, 2021 Senate Neglects to Invest in Local Election Infrastructure in $3.5 Trillion Budget
Aug 9, 2021 Stunning: Proposed Senate Budget Omits Federal Funding for Local Election Officials
Aug 6, 2021 CTCL Applauds Congressional Move to Fund Local Election Officials
Jun 28, 2021 Bipartisan Group of State and Local Officials Collectively Call on Congress to Fund Secure Election Infrastructure
Oct 13,2020 CTCL Receives Additional $100M Contribution to Support Critical Work of Election Officials
Oct 8, 2020 WATCH: CTCL Featured in Freethink Election Security Video
Sept 24, 2020 CTCL Statement on the Amistad Project
Sept 1, 2020 CTCL Receives $250M Contribution to Support Critical Work of Election Officials
Aug 7, 2020 CTCL Announces COVID-19 Response Rural Grant Program
Jul 7, 2020 CTCL Partners with 5 Wisconsin Cities to Implement Safe Voting Plan
The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), a non-partisan organization backed by Republicans, Democrats, and non-partisan officials, grew rapidly in 2020 in response to an exceptionally challenging U.S. election year when a global pandemic and disinformation campaign threatened people’s ability to participate in the democratic process. In response, our country’s state and local election officials alongside pro-democracy organizations including foundations, corporations, and nonprofits, came together to overcome these challenges. As a result, 2020 was the most secure election in U.S. history and voter turnout soared.
CTCL played a critical role in deploying various strategies to support election officials and the voting public in 2020. In addition to providing timely and relevant online training as well as accurate and trustworthy information to millions of voters, CTCL distributed nearly $350 million in grants to local election departments to administer safe elections.
With generous philanthropic funding, CTCL announced the COVID-19 Response Grant program available to all U.S. local election offices responsible for administering election activities covered by the grant program were eligible to apply for funds. Once applicants were verified as legitimate, they were approved for grant funds which had to be used exclusively for the public purpose of planning and operationalizing safe and secure election administration.
Basics about the COVID-19 Grant Response Program
Grants were distributed to nearly 2,500 U.S. election departments spanning 47 states. The minimum CTCL COVID-19 Response Grant amount was $5,000, which was awarded to smaller localities across the country. The largest grant was awarded to New York City, totaling just over $19 million. Over half of all grants nationwide went to election departments that serve fewer than 25,000 registered voters. The grant program was optional, so the list of grantees is a reflection of those election departments that decided to opt-in. Additionally, some jurisdictions may have returned some or all of their grants as unspent.
The COVID-19 Response Grant program came into place because Congress did not fully fund local election departments during the pandemic. The goal of the program was to ensure election officials had the resources they needed to conduct safe, secure elections for their community.
There were no partisan questions in the grant applications. CTCL COVID-19 Response grant funding decisions were not made on a partisan basis. As demonstrated by the jurisdictions across the political spectrum that received money, partisan considerations played no role in the availability or awarding of funding.
As part of a disinformation campaign to undermine voter confidence, more than a dozen frivolous lawsuits were filed to smear the CTCL COVID-19 Response Grants program.
Every judge — conservative, liberal, and two Republican-appointed Supreme Court Justices — who heard these challenges rejected them, with one judge issuing a strongly-worded opinion that in one case labeled these challenges a “conspiracy theory.”
What’s more, in the summer of 2022, a unanimous, bipartisan vote by the Federal Election Commission rejected fantastical claims about the COVID-19 Response Grants program. The regulator rejected those claims in 6-0 votes — a rare show of unanimity by the commissioners, who are split evenly by party.
Additional Reading:
10 Facts About CTCL & the COVID-19 Response Grant Program
Final Report on 2020 COVID-19 Response Grant Program and CTCL 990s