El Paso County demanda al DHS por condiciones de financiamiento electoral

El Paso County joined a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the Department of Homeland Security's decision to withhold 20 percent of funding for certain grant programs unless states and local governments comply with new federal election requirements, according to KVIA.

The county filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alongside Harris County, Texas; the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; and the City of Columbus, Ohio. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of DHS, implemented the funding restrictions.

The local governments argue the new conditions would increase election costs, complicate administration, and undermine reliability. They also contend the rules violate the Constitution and endanger public safety. "Holding critical grant funding hostage to advance a false political narrative is unlawful. It comes at the direct expense of local election offices, law enforcement agencies, and the communities they are entrusted to serve," El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said in a statement.

The DHS conditions require states and localities to transition to hand-marked paper ballots, manually audit at least 5 percent of ballots, and use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to verify citizenship of all registered voters and election workers.

El Paso County said the grants support preparation for terrorism, natural disasters, and emergencies. The new conditions put $1.75 million in law enforcement funding and more than $170,000 for first-responder equipment at risk, the county claimed.

Transitioning to paper ballots alone could cost $3 million in printing expenses, according to El Paso County. Manual audits would "add significant new costs and be contrary to state law in some cases," the county said. Officials also labeled the citizenship verification system "error-prone."

The plaintiffs argue the conditions violate the Constitution's separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act, noting that Congress holds authority over federal spending while states retain power over election rules. El Paso County is seeking a court order to pause the funding restrictions and declare the requirements unlawful so the full amount of grants can be released.

Separately, 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a similar lawsuit to block the election conditions in their states. The local governments suing Monday are based in states that did not participate in that earlier lawsuit.