# Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act

This bill makes it illegal to intimidate, threaten, or coerce election workers and officials while they're doing their jobs. It covers people who work on voting, counting ballots, certifying election results, and other election administration tasks. The law applies whether someone is acting as a government official or just as a private citizen trying to interfere with the election process.

The bill also creates a specific rule about firearms at election sites. If someone displays or carries a visible gun, fake gun, or replica gun while interacting with or watching election workers, voters, or people helping voters, the law presumes they're trying to intimidate—unless they can prove otherwise. This applies to regular citizens, but law enforcement officers doing their official duties get an exception. However, even police officers could still be found guilty of intimidation if a court determines their firearm display was meant to threaten or coerce someone.

If someone is caught intimidating election workers or voters with a firearm, a court can order them to stop carrying guns temporarily as part of the punishment. The bill essentially says that showing up armed near election activities sends a clear intimidation message, and the burden shifts to the person with the gun to explain why they were there for a legitimate reason. This is meant to protect the people running elections from threats and violence so they can do their jobs safely.