Congress kills 50-year campaign-finance system, ties election grants to voter ID
H.R. 7418 — STEADFAST Act · Filed by Stephanie Bice (R-OK) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 9, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill terminates the federal public financing system for presidential campaigns (which has allowed candidates to opt into taxpayer-funded elections since 1976) and redirects all remaining funds plus future tax-return checkoff designations to a new grant program that pays States to upgrade voting equipment, implement cybersecurity, and purchase paper ballots. States must certify they prevent noncitizen voting and prioritize those requiring photo ID and paper ballots to receive larger grants.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward reallocation of federal tax revenue from presidential campaign financing to State election-security grants, but it is not neutral—it ties funding to State adoption of specific voting-access policies (photo ID, noncitizen verification), making it both an infrastructure investment and a policy lever.
What the text implies
- States that do not adopt photo ID or noncitizen-verification measures receive lower priority for grants, creating financial pressure to adopt voting policies that may reduce voter registration or turnout, particularly among marginalized populations.
- The bill terminates a 50-year-old public financing system without debate on whether candidates should continue to have a taxpayer-funded alternative to private fundraising, effectively ending that choice.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
voting-equipment manufacturers; cybersecurity vendors serving election systems; paper-ballot and ballot-printing suppliers