Trump's "election integrity" threat: Defunding state and local police

State and cities nationwide are rebelling against the White House's push to withhold millions of dollars in police and anti-terrorism funding unless they impose new voting rules.

Why it matters: President Trump's effort to impose election policies that he hasn't been able to get through Congress has now drawn two lawsuits from state and local governments that accuse the administration of threatening to defund the police unless Trump gets his way.

• "They are trying to defund public safety and counterterrorism," Harris County (Texas) Attorney Abbie Kamin told Axios.
• Harris County, which includes Houston, and the other jurisdictions stand to lose millions in public safety grants unless they impose the controversial voting rules Trump wants: a plan to transition to paper ballots, proof of citizenship verifications, mandatory hand-counted audits of 5% of all ballots, and more.
• (A separate part of Trump's "election integrity" push got a boost Monday when the Supreme Court lifted a block on his plan to use the Postal Service to help limit deliveries of mail-in ballots. The plan still faces legal challenges.)

Zoom in: Harris County joined Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tenn., and El Paso County, Texas, last week in suing the Department of Homeland Security over the agency's effort to withhold grant money.

• State and local officials say DHS's demands for costly and unnecessary voting restrictions have put them at risk of losing money for anti-terrorism teams, equipment to counter drone and bomb attacks, protective gear and overtime pay, among other things.
• "We have dedicated public servants of again all political backgrounds that are involved in ensuring that elections are run securely and fairly," Kamin said.
• "But what's happening here is the threat to public safety funding and withholding counterterrorism dollars that local law enforcement relies on for partisan political purposes for one individual, and that is Donald Trump."

The other side: In July, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to withhold federal funding from state governments, echoing Trump's claim that there were thousands of noncitizens on state voter rolls.

• "I obviously can't force the states" to work with the administration, Mullin said then. But "we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars reimbursing the states that are refusing to secure their elections."
• "We fully expected opposition to common-sense measures designed to protect election security and safeguard the integrity of American democracy," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement.
• "Election security is national security, and protecting our critical infrastructure remains a top priority for the Trump administration."

Zoom out: Besides the lawsuit filed last week, 25 Democrat-lead states filed suit earlier this summer contesting Trump's demands on election procedures.

• Some Republican-led jurisdictions have expressed a willingness to go along with at least some of the voting changes Trump wants, particularly the use of a federal database to check against voter rolls for citizenship.
• But for the most part, officials nationwide have said state and local laws already are sufficient to run elections, audit them and maintain voter rolls — work that's constitutionally tasked to state and local governments.
• "This type of ask ... feeds into this false narrative that our elections are not secure, and that if we do not do these things that the federal government is demanding that local elections are compromised," El Paso County attorney Christina Sanchez. "That is so far from the truth."
• Just transitioning to paper ballots alone would cost her county $3 million, Sanchez said.

The big picture: Losing the public safety grants would have a huge impact on their jurisdictions, officials said in the lawsuit filed last week.

• In Texas, Harris and El Paso counties are planning to use the grant funds to buy equipment that can detect hazardous materials and chemicals, explosives and biological weapons.
• Nashville and Columbus' city governments said they've previously used such funds to buy machines that can detect explosives and purchase SWAT team gear.

Between the lines: This isn't the first time Trump's administration has tried to withhold federal funding from governments that it views as non-compliant with its wishes.

• Trump has threatened to cut funding to state and local governments that have sanctuary immigration laws preventing local police from collaborating with ICE agents, for example.
• The administration's threats have failed when challenged in court before.
• "We've been prepared for this since the beginning of the Trump administration, that they're going to try and play games with cities like Columbus' funding," City Attorney Zach Klein told Axios.
• "This is the latest example of Trump coming in," he added "It's illegal and it's unconstitutional."