Promoting Election Security

Election Security remains a critical National Priority Area (NPA) because the integrity, continuity, and safety of election operations are foundational to public trust and democratic governance. As threats to election infrastructure continue to evolve—from cyber intrusions and disinformation to physical threats against facilities, ballots, and personnel—jurisdictions must strengthen their ability to prevent, protect against, and respond to disruptions that could undermine election processes. FEMA’s NPA underscores that election systems function as critical infrastructure and require targeted investments in cybersecurity, physical protective measures, operational coordination, and continuity planning to ensure safe and secure voting environments.

For the Bay Area UASI, this priority is especially relevant given the region’s diverse population, dense urban environment, and complex network of county election offices, ballot processing centers, and polling locations. By investing in risk assessments, cyber hardening, facility security enhancements, training, and multi-agency exercises, the region closes capability gaps identified in the THIRA/SPR and aligns with FEMA’s national preparedness expectations. These efforts collectively strengthen regional resilience, enhance interagency coordination, and help ensure that election activities can proceed securely and reliably—even in the face of cyberattacks, physical threats, or other disruptive events—thereby protecting the democratic process for Bay Area residents. 

Program Contact

EQUIPMENT PROCUREMENTS

  • Vehicle Barrier Trailer Kits

    Election Security remains a vital National Priority Area because protecting election infrastructure—both physical and cyber—is essential to ensuring safe, accessible, and trusted voting processes. In the Bay Area, election operations occur across hundreds of publicly accessible facilities, including ballot drop-off locations, early voting sites, county election offices, and Election Day polling places. These locations often function as soft targets with limited fixed security, increasing their vulnerability to vehicle-borne threats, intimidation, and disruptive incidents. To address these risks, the Bay Area UASI has strategically invested in Meridian Archer 1200 trailer/barrier kits in Fiscal Years 2020, 2023, and 2024, providing jurisdictions with rapidly deployable, certified vehicle mitigation barriers that enhance protection at election facilities without imposing restrictive or permanent security infrastructure.

    These portable, modular barriers support FEMA’s Election Security NPA by enabling counties to harden key polling and ballot-processing sites during high-visibility election periods, mitigating hostile vehicle attacks—a top concern for crowded, publicly accessible election environments. The Archer 1200 barriers strengthen prevention and protection missions identified in the THIRA/SPR by improving physical security, enhancing crowd and traffic control, and supporting safer operations for election staff and voters. By expanding this regional inventory across three fiscal years, the Bay Area UASI ensures that all counties have access to scalable, interoperable protective equipment that can be quickly deployed wherever risk is greatest. Collectively, these investments reinforce the resilience of election infrastructure and help ensure that voting can proceed safely, securely, and with public confidence across the Bay Area.