Judge blocks Trump from tying anti-terrorism grants to election changes

A US judge has blocked the Trump administration from tying counterterrorism grants to election administration changes, marking another setback for President Donald Trump's efforts to expand federal control over elections. The decision by US District Judge Amir Ali sides with counties and cities in Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee, who sued to prevent the conditioning of $1.1 billion in grants on election security measures.

The DHS had planned to withhold 20% of these funds until states and local governments adopted election reforms favored by the administration, such as using hand-marked paper ballots and auditing a portion of ballots. However, Judge Ali ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does not have the authority to mandate such election reforms, as they are not designed to prepare for or respond to acts of terrorism.

The grant programs, which have been in place for years, were not intended for election security purposes. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin had argued that the new requirements would protect election systems from foreign interference and cyberattacks.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.