CTCL is thrilled to launch a nonpartisan grant program to help rural and nonmetro election jurisdictions ensure reliable and secure elections consistent with applicable law.

Unfortunately, local election departments remain severely underfunded after Congress cut Help America Vote Act funding to just $55 million nationwide, which means most rural election offices don’t get any regular funding from the federal government. CTCL’s nonpartisan Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure Grant Program will help local election offices bridge this gap so that they can conduct reliable and secure elections by doing things like modernizing outdated voting technology, improving access to voting for groups like rural voters, seniors, and veterans, and making much-needed infrastructure updates to enhance election security and make voting a smoother process for everyone.

The Rural and Nonmetro Election Infrastructure program is nonpartisan and open to rural and nonmetro jurisdictions that can legally apply for and receive funding to conduct reliable and secure elections as outlined by the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security. Permissible uses of grant funding include key human, physical, and technological assets that the Department has identified as necessary to conduct elections.

CTCL is using the 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to define “rural” and “nonmetro” for this program. Jurisdictions with codes 4-9 on that continuum are considered “rural and nonmetro” for the purposes of this grant program.