Introduction
This is a continuation of my prior work on CTCL which you can find here. After working through an analysis on each state, I wanted to conduct a deep dive analysis on one county. To do that, I obtained from a county through an open records request the Counties records related to the CTCL grant (I will not name the county).
IRS Form 990
Let’s start with the basis for the CTCL grants as stated on the IRS 990. This is NOT the county I looked at but the Purpose listed in col H is exactly the same for all grants made by CTCL.
“To support the safe administration of public elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Chronological Review
September 2020 - Grant Application Request by County
These items are required to be submitted to CTCL with the application.
Number of active registered voters in the election office jurisdiction as of September 1, 2020.
Number of full-time staff (or equivalent) on the election team as of September 1, 2020.
Election office 2020 budget as of September 1, 2020.
Election office W-9.
Local government body who needs to approve the grant funding (if any).
Which government official or government agency the grant agreement should be addressed to.
The following CTCL stipulations are stated as possible uses for the grant in the application.
Ensure Safe, Efficient Election Day Administration
Maintain open in-person polling places on Election Day
Procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and personal disinfectant to protect election officials and voters from COVID-19
Support and expand drive-thru voting, including purchase of additional signage, tents, traffic control, walkie-talkies, and safety measures
Expand Voter Education & Outreach Efforts
Publish reminders for voters to verify and update their address, or other voter registration information, prior to the election
Educate voters on safe voting policies and procedures
Launch Poll Worker Recruitment, Training & Safety Efforts
Recruit and hire a sufficient number of poll workers and inspectors to ensure polling places are properly staffed, utilizing hazard pay where required
Provide voting facilities with funds to compensate for increased site cleaning and sanitization costs
Deliver updated training for current and new poll workers administering elections in the midst of pandemic
Support Early In-Person Voting and Vote by Mail
Expand or maintain the number of in-person early voting sites
Deploy additional staff and/or technology improvements to expedite and improve mail ballot processing
September 2020 - Initial Grant Application
The county submits the grant application to CTCL and provides this data.
# of Registered voters
# of employees
Yearly budget
October 2020 - Grant Award Letter Approved Use
In October of 2020, about a month before the election, the grant is approved with these stipulations. Note that CTCL states that the county may allocate the funds to other needs without prior approval of CTCL in point #3. Note that the County may distribute grant money to other organizations on point #4. Note in point #5 that the funds need to be spent by the end of 2020.
January 2021 - Response Grant Extension Grant
A 6 month extension was granted to spend the remaining 14% of the grant by June 2021. A final report is to be provided back to CTCL by July 2021. The county initially requested the money for “Voter Education” in the initial grant. The extension re-affirms that the county may spend the finds at their discretion, which they do.
May 2021 - CTCL Launches Election Infrastructure Initiative (EII)
Now that the county partnerships have been established, CTCL starts providing free webinars and other “non-partisan” election materials. None of this was shared in the initial grant application.
I detail most of that here.
June 2021 - CTCL Provides Free Cybersecurity & Misinformation Training
CTCL and EAC collaborate to provide counties with free webinars on cybersecurity and election misinformation. Again, none of this was shared in the initial grant application.
I detail most of that here.
June 2021 - CTCL Asks Officials to Sign the Letter for EII
Based on 2,500 grant reports from counties and in depth interviews with 90 partners, CTCL asks election officials to sign a letter to congress requesting 20 billion dollars for modernizing election infrastructure.
July 2021 - Response Grant Report
In July of 2021, the county finally submits this final report that includes a list of expenditures for
Drive through voting ~ 10% grant
PPE ~ 3% of grant
Polling place rental and cleaning ~ 20% of grant
Temporary staffing ~ 15% of grant
Election administration equipment ~ 24% of grant
Non-partisan voter education ~ 24% of grant
Analysis
One needs to keep in mind that the grant application was made in September 2020 and approved in October 2020. Within a month of the November 2020 election in this case, the funds were distributed to the County. Not a very long time to decide how to spend the money during this pandemic crisis.
Only 86% of the grant ended up being spent in 2020.
An extension was granted to spend the remaining 14% of the grant in 2021.
Looking at the distribution % in how the grant was actually spent as provided in the July 2021 report, it is a bit confusing. Actual receipts of the expenditures were not provided by the county, just the final report totals.
For example, if only 14% of the grant was left to spend in 2021, how did 24% of the grant end up being spent on voting equipment in 2020? Perhaps an order was placed for new voting machines in 2020 that were not even used in the 2020 election?
How exactly do you “educate voters” within 30 days of the election?
It is also not clear how much of the funds, if any, may have been distributed to 3rd parties, which is permitted per the grant agreement.
Without actual budget line items and receipts, it is difficult to say.
Looks like another request for records is needed…..