A More Responsive Government 2024 Grant Program

Update (September 11, 2024): Due to high demand from local election offices, the Institute for Responsive Government’s nonpartisan A More Responsive Government 2024 Grant Program has exhausted the $6 million dollars currently available for grantmaking. 

Although the Institute for Responsive Government cannot guarantee that additional grantmaking funds will become available, we encourage you to submit an application below to join our waitlist as soon as possible. 

If additional funding becomes available for jurisdictions on our waitlist, applications will be considered based on the time the application was submitted. We will contact jurisdictions on the waitlist as soon as possible should funding become available.

Far too often, local election offices are severely underfunded. Yet year after year, our federal government has failed to provide the consistent, adequate funding required to keep our democracy running smoothly and securely. You can learn more about ongoing efforts to secure adequate federal funding of election administration here: ModernizeOurElections.org

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Thank you for your interest in the Institute for Responsive Government’s nonpartisan A More Responsive Government 2024 Grant Program! After submitting this information, Responsive Gov may ask for additional public, non-confidential information to help determine your jurisdiction’s eligibility for a grant. We will never ask you for non-public information about your voters or election operations. Responsive Gov reserves the right to verify any information you provide with third party sources. By submitting this application, you consent to the collection of the information you submit, which may be used for the purposes described in Responsive Gov’s Privacy Policy. You also represent that you are authorized to do so on behalf of your election office.

Jurisdiction Selection and Grant Eligibility

Responsive Gov has provided prepopulated information regarding eligibility as a convenience. Nothing in this application is intended to reflect a legal determination or legal advice. We encourage you to check independently with your state, county, or city attorney to verify whether your office can apply for and/or receive or use grant funds under applicable law.

Office Information

This application is for {leo_human_readable_no_state} in {jurisdiction_or_state}.

Office Physical Address *

Applicant Information

Provide information on the individual applying on behalf of {leo_human_readable}.

What number can we reach you at during business hours?

Grant Information

Eligible election offices can use the funds to cover expenses incurred between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025 for the nonpartisan public purpose of planning and operationalizing secure, efficient, and accessible election administration. Examples of uses that fall within this public purpose include expenditures for the key human, physical, and technological assets that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has concluded are necessary to conduct elections.

Intended Use of Grant Funds

Grant funds must be used exclusively for the nonpartisan public purpose of planning and operationalizing secure, efficient, and accessible election administration. Please indicate your intended use(s) of grant funds. Select all that apply.

Your answer to this question does not affect the amount of grant funds you are eligible for. Instead, you are eligible for a set amount of grant funds based upon your jurisdiction’s citizen voting age population.

Grant funds may be used for any nonpartisan purpose that falls under the categories listed below. If you receive a grant and your office later decides to allocate those grant funds towards a different category of permissible expenditures, there is no need to inform, update, or seek the input or approval of Responsive Gov before doing so, as long as those new expenditures are consistent with the nonpartisan public purpose of planning and operationalizing secure, efficient, and accessible election administration.

Human – Personnel with specialized training, certification, knowledge, skills, authorities, or roles whose absence could cause undesirable consequences or hamper election security.

Physical – Equipment and materials*, facilities, and records that support or provide protection. *includes basic election administration supplies like pens, postage, stickers, paper, envelopes

Technological – Hardware and software components critical to supporting election, including computers, servers, databases, and other IT systems and assets used to fulfill one of the following functions:

Other Expenses – If you believe that your intended use of grant funds is not listed among the above examples, but nevertheless falls within the nonpartisan public purpose of planning and operationalizing secure, efficient, and accessible election administration, please describe the expense below.

Provide the full name and title of the government official authorized to sign a grant agreement, if awarded. This is who the grant agreement will be addressed to. The signatory could be, for example, the head of the election department or chair of the board of elections, the city or county attorney, the mayor or county executive, or chair of the county commission. There may be multiple officials who could fill this role, in which case we encourage you to select one who can be available to sign the agreement quickly.

Application Summary

Please review the application summary below. To make a change, use the “Back” button at the bottom of this page.

 
Office Information

Office: {leo_human_readable_no_state}
State: {state_territory_select}
Jurisdiction: {jurisdictionsFormatted}
Office Website: {office_website} {no_office_website}
Physical Address: {physical_address_line1} {physical_address_line2}, {physical_address_city}, {physical_address_state} {physical_address_zip}
Mailing Address: {mailingAddressDisplay}
How many active registered voters does your jurisdiction have as of June 2024?: {num_registered_voters}
Approximately how many full time staff (or equivalent) do you have on your election team?: {num_fte_staff}
Jurisdiction's total one-year budget allocated to elections for the fiscal year that includes June 2024?: {office_budget}
Please upload a copy of your elections budget for the fiscal year that includes June 2024. {pleaseUpload}

Applicant Information

Applicant Name: {applicant_name}
Applicant Job Title: {applicant_job_title}
Applicant Email: {applicant_email}
Share a link to an official government page that contains your bio or lists you in a staff directory: {applicant_webpage} {no_applicant_webpage}
Phone Number - Desk: {applicant_phone_desk} {applicant_phone_desk_extension}
Phone Number - Work Mobile: {applicant_phone_mobile}

Grant Information

{amount_title_switcher}: {amount_requested_swutcher}
Human Expenses: {expenses_human} {otherHuman}
Physical Expenses: {expenses_physical} {otherPhysical}
Technological Expenses: {expenses_technological} {otherTech}
Other Expenses: {expenses_other}
Briefly describe how you anticipate using the grant funds: {grant_brief_description}
Title of Individual Signatory Authorized to Sign a Grant Agreement: {signatory_title}
Name of Individual Signatory (if applicable): {signatory_name}

Optional Questions

Why are you seeking this additional source of funding? {learning_questions} {other_learning_questions}
In the context of your annual elections budget, what impact will this funding have on your election operations? {impact_question}

I understand that I will be emailed a copy of this application for my records. *

I certify that I am permitted to submit this grant application on behalf of {leo_human_readable_no_state} in {jurisdiction_or_state}. *