Section 3260.2-A - Funding for elections.(a)Election integrity grant program.--The Election Integrity Grant Program is established within the department to provide grants to counties for the administration of elections.(b) Appropriation.--Money in the account is appropriated to the department on a continuing basis for the purposes under this article.(d)Application.--The following shall apply:(1) By August 1, 2022, and each August 1 thereafter, the department shall begin accepting applications from counties seeking grant money under this section. The department shall develop a form for a county to certify that the county intends to use grant money for an eligible use under subsection (f).(2) If a county is seeking grants under this section, the county shall apply to the department no later than August 15, 2022, and each August 15 thereafter.(e)Distribution.--Each county shall be entitled to an allotment equal to the total amount appropriated to the program under this section multiplied by the quotient of the county's number of registered voters divided by the total number of registered voters in all counties. For the purposes of this subsection, the department shall use the county's total number of registered voters for the most recent primary election as certified to the Secretary of the Commonwealth under section 302(m).(f)Eligible uses.--A county shall use grant money awarded under this section for any of the following purposes: (1) Payment of staff needed to pre-canvass and canvass mail-in ballots and absentee ballots.(2) Physical security and transparency costs for centralized pre-canvassing and canvassing.(3) Post-election procedures required under this act.(4) List maintenance activities under 25 Pa.C.S. § 1901(b)(1) and (3) (relating to removal of electors).(5) The printing of ballots.(6) Training costs for district election officials.(7) Payment of staff at polling places on election day.(8) Secure preparation, transportation, storage and management of voting apparatuses, tabulation equipment and required polling place materials.(9) Costs of county board of election duties related to processing of voter registration applications.(g)Payments.--The department shall make payments to counties that applied for a grant under this section no later than September 1, 2022, and each September 1 thereafter.(h) Reporting.--No later than 90 days after the date of each general, municipal and primary election, a county that received a grant under this section shall report to the department, the chairperson and minority chairperson of the State Government Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of the State Government Committee of the House of Representatives, on a form prescribed by the Department of State, how the county used the grant money received under this section.(i)Clawback.--If a county fails to substantially comply with the requirements of this section, the county shall return the grant money received to the department for deposit into the account. If a county fails to return the grant money, the county shall be ineligible to receive grants through the program for a period of one year.(j) Grant agreement.--The grant agreement between the department and the county under this section shall include the following requirements for counties: (1) The county shall begin pre-canvassing at 7 a.m. on election day and shall continue without interruption until each mail-in ballot and absentee ballot received by 7 a.m. on election day is pre-canvassed.(2) The county shall begin canvassing mail-in ballots and absentee ballots at 8 p.m. on election day and shall continue without interruption until each ballot has been canvassed.(3) No later than 12:01 a.m. on the day following the election, the county board of elections shall announce and post on its publicly accessible Internet website an unofficial number of absentee ballots and mail-in ballots received for the election.(4) A county shall certify to the department that the county has completed a program under 25 Pa.C.S. § 1901(b)(1) and mailed notices required under 25 Pa.C.S. § 1901(b)(3) within the prior 12 months.(5) The outcome of any post-election audit required under this act shall be submitted with the certification to the Secretary of the Commonwealth of the results of the primary or general election under section 302(k) and shall be posted on the Department of State's publicly accessible Internet website.Added by P.L. TBD 2022 No. 88, § 2.1, eff. 7/11/2022.