Washington, D.C. – A U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued a 24‑page opinion on Monday rejecting the Trump administration’s effort to condition FEMA counterterrorism grants on compliance with a set of election‑related mandates. The judge found that neither Congress nor the agency’s governing statutes grant the authority to attach such requirements to the grants.
Legal basis for the decision
Judge Ali wrote that the conditions imposed by the Department of Homeland Security and its sub‑agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), do not meet the legal threshold requiring grant conditions to relate directly to the purpose of the underlying funding. Congress authorized FEMA to help jurisdictions protect critical infrastructure from terrorism and cyber‑attacks, not to dictate voter eligibility, ballot‑counting methods, or voter‑roll maintenance.
What the administration sought
The administration announced that 20% of FEMA antiterrorism grants would be withheld from states and urban areas unless they complied with a list of election‑related actions. Those actions included verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers, requiring jurisdictions using electronic voting systems with barcodes or QR codes to submit plans to switch to hand‑marked paper ballots, and mandating audits of election results.
Local plaintiffs challenge the rule
City and county officials from Columbus, Ohio; Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; and El Paso, Harris, Dallas, and Travis counties in Texas filed the lawsuit, arguing that FEMA exceeded its statutory authority. “Never before has FEMA purported to regulate how states and counties run elections,” the plaintiffs wrote. They declared victory after the judge’s ruling, with Nashville’s law director Tyler Chance Yarbro stating, “The end result is exactly what we wanted.”
Broader context
The lawsuit comes amid ongoing legal battles over the Trump administration’s attempts to influence election administration ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Courts have repeatedly rejected similar efforts that rely on unsubstantiated claims of widespread voting fraud. While the administration’s rationale centers on protecting national security, critics—including Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones—accused the move of using community safety as a “bargaining chip for partisan politics.”
Implications
FEMA’s $1 billion-plus grant program, which supports states, local and tribal governments in preventing terror at crowded venues, online, and at the border, will continue without the new election‑related conditions. The administration may seek alternative avenues to pursue its election‑policy goals, but any future attempts must align with congressional authority.
Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.
