Secretary of State Jena Griswold Announces $3.5 Million in Support for County Security and Accessibility for the 2024 Elections

Grants to Election Officials to Bolster Security, Accessibility of Elections

Denver, February 28, 2024 - Today, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced $3.5 million in support of county elections for the 2024 statewide primary and general election. Grants will be available to improve election security and accessibility.

“As Secretary of State, my top priority is making sure our elections are accessible and secure,” said Secretary Griswold. “I’m proud to announce $3.5 million in election security and accessibly grants available to Colorado’s 64 counties so Colorado continues to be the nation’s gold standard of elections.”

Eligible security expenses for reimbursement include adding or upgrading locks or key card access to areas where election activities occur; upgrading 24-hour drop box surveillance footage, including with the purchase of additional security cameras; hiring new or additional security personnel at voting locations; county network infrastructure improvements; and domain upgrades to .gov.

Eligible accessibility expenses for reimbursement include installation of ramps and automatic doors at voting locations, parking lot or curb accessibility improvements at voting locations, costs associated with improved language assistance at VSPCs for voters with limited English proficiency, and adding handicap parking to polling places.

Additional miscellaneous costs that help improve the oversight of federal elections are also eligible for reimbursement.

The new grant program will reimburse counties for up to 100% of eligible expenses. It is made possible by Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds.