Delaware News Desk

Smyrna/Clayton Sun-Times

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, released a statement March 25 after it was announced that the third stimulus package includes $400 million in election funding.

The announcement comes after officials in several states have postponed their presidential primaries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s very possible that COVID-19 will continue to disrupt American lives through November, and we need to prepare the country to vote if that’s the case,” said Coons. “Republican and Democratic officials across the country have encouraged expansions of no-excuse vote-by-mail and early voting — it’s a commonsense initiative to ensure states have the resources they need to effectively administer elections.”

“The election funding included in the final stimulus package provides important assistance to states to expand access to the polls, but it’s not enough to guarantee full implementation of these critical election reforms,” said Coons. “It’s on the federal government to safeguard our constitutional rights and make sure that, even while our country faces this pandemic, we still protect our democracy. I’m going to keep pushing for more funding for expanding vote-by-mail and early voting to ensure no American has to choose between their health and their vote this fall.”

Coons introduced on March 18 the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, to expand no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail to all states, extend early in-person voting in every state to at least 20 days and reimburse states for additional costs in administering elections during the pandemic. Coons and Klobuchar also wrote a letter to congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, urging them to include funding to protect U.S. elections in the final stimulus package.