Letter to Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida - Castor, Bipartisan Members of Florida Delegation Urge DeSantis to Safeguard 2020 Elections, Accept $20m in CARES Act Funds Allocated for Election Assistance

Letter

Dear Governor DeSantis:

As part of the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136), signed into law on March 27, 2020, Congress
appropriated $400 million to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to distribute to
U.S. states and territories in order to protect the 2020 federal election cycle from the effects of
COVID-19. The EAC will distribute $20.2 million to the State of Florida, contingent on the
state providing a 25 percent match of $4.0 million, for a total of $24.2 million.

As of this writing, Florida has not submitted a letter to the EAC formally requesting these federal
funds and outlining the ways in which it intends to use them to ensure a safe, secure, and
successful election. We urge you to formally request the funds as soon as possible, so funding
can be used to prepare for the state's August 18, 2020 primary election--which is only about 100
days away--and the November 3, 2020 general election.

On April 7, 2020, the Florida Supervisors of Elections--composed of the senior election officials
in the state's 67 counties--sent you a letter. The letter observes that, during the March 17, 2020
presidential preference primary in Florida, county election officials "encountered significant
challenges with polling places becoming unavailable, difficulty in acquiring hand sanitizer and
other supplies, and substantial numbers of poll workers deciding not to work, many at the last
minute." It is clear from the letter that Supervisors of Elections throughout Florida will face
increased administrative costs in order to prepare for and execute a free and fair election
process. The funds from the CARES Act will help offset these costs and prepare election
departments for what is expected to be a challenging elections cycle.

In light of the foregoing, we respectfully ask you or your designee to provide written responses
to the following three questions:

1. When will the State formally request the $20.2 million in federal funding from EAC?
2. How does the State intend to meet its $4 million state match?
3. How, precisely, do you intend to use this $24.2 million in federal and state funding?

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and we look forward to your written
responses to our questions and to working with you to meet our shared goal of free, fair, and safe
elections in Florida.

Sincerely,
Reps. Kathy Castor, Stephanie Murphy, Mario Diaz-Balart, Charlie Crist, Val Demings, Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, Alcee L. Hastings, Al Lawson, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Donna E. Shalala, Darren Soto, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Source