Along with a bipartisan group of nine other chief election officials, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold signed onto a letter to congressional leaders calling for the proposed federal infrastructure legislation to include $20 billion to bolster election infrastructure.

The June 28 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., notes the Department of Homeland Security in 2017 designated election systems, equipment and facilities as critical infrastructure.

“Like other sectors of critical infrastructure, we need to ensure that we can continue to build and strengthen our systems and equipment for the protection of our democracy: to ensure the ability of all eligible voters to exercise their fundamental right to vote in safe, secure, and accessible elections,” the election officials said in the letter.

Lawmakers in Washington from both sides of the aisle and the Biden administration have coalesced around a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. The details of that package released by the Biden administration point toward spending on transportation, water infrastructure, broadband, environmental remediation and power infrastructure.

The letter urges leaders in Congress to add election infrastructure into the mix.

“Now is the time to make investments in modern and secure election infrastructure,” the officials said. “As investing in roads, bridges, and broadband is vital to our country, so is investing in the security and modernization of our democracy. We strongly urge you to include funding for secure elections in the infrastructure package.”

Along with Griswold, signatories include:

• New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver;
• Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill;
• Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows;
• Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs;
• Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos;
• Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman;
• Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon;
• Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Veronica Degraffenreid; and
• Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson