Report: Most federal election security money remains unspent

By ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press

A federal report finds that in the run up to the 2020 presidential election U.S. states and territories had spent less than a third of the $805 million Congress had provided to shore up security for state and local election systems. A state-by-state snapshot released last month by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission shows they had spent a little more than $255 million allocated under the Help America Vote Act. Officials say many states were focused on the coronavirus pandemic last year and received much of the money too late to use before the 2020 election.