Schwarzenegger offers grants to reopen polling places

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said Thursday that he offered grants to election officials in nearly 6,000 counties previously covered by the Voting Rights Act.

“Today I sent a letter to nearly 6,000 elections officials and county commissioners in states formerly covered by Voting Rights Act Section 5 inviting them to apply for grants, funded by me, to reopen polling centers and improve voting access,” Schwarzenegger tweeted. 

Today I sent a letter to nearly 6,000 elections officials and county commissioners in states formerly covered by Voting Rights Act Section 5 inviting them to apply for grants, funded by me, to reopen polling centers and improve voting access.

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 23, 2020

He added that the grants, which will be administered through the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute, “are completely non-partisan and will be offered to those who demonstrate the greatest need and ability to close gaps in voting access.”

He did not say exactly how much money would be spent on the grants. 

Earlier this month Schwarzenegger signaled that he was considering offering his personal funds to reopen polling places that are closed in the U.S. due to alleged budget issues. 

He tweeted a link to a 2019 Reuters article about the closure of 1,200 polling places in the south since the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision that critics say weakened parts of the Voting Rights Act.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’m a fanatic about voting. Most people call closing polls voter suppression. Some say it is ‘budgetary.’ What if I made it easy & solved the budgetary issue? How much would it cost to reopen polling places?” Schwarzenegger tweeted.