“Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act”would expand and strengthen protections for election workers and election infrastructure
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is working to protect election workers from threats of harassment and violence.
His new voting rights legislation, the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act,would help protect election workers and their families from threats of harm not only to themselves, but also to their property.
The bill would also prohibit intentional damage to election infrastructure, such as polling places and tabulation centers.
“Threats of violence targeting election officials and polling places are threats against our Constitution and the right to vote,” Sen. Ossoff said. “At this moment of peril for our democracy, my bill will strengthen Federal laws protecting election workers and polling places from violent threats and acts of violence.”
In Georgia, several top election officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his family, received death threats before and after the 2020 General Election, prompting top state election officials to plead for the threats of violence to stop.
Jordan Fuchs, Georgia’s Deputy Secretary of State, told ABC News after the election that Fulton County in Georgia received multiple bomb threats at polling locations.
According to the same reporting, an election worker in Atlanta was forced to go into hiding after a now-debunked video went viral online, falsely claiming he was disregarding votes.
A Reuters special report found disturbing cases of violent threats toward election officials on the rise nationwide, fueled by the “Big Lie.”
These threats are driving some county officials who run elections to quit or retire early, leading to vacancies in these critical positions.
Click here for a one-pager about the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act.
Click here to read the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act.
###
