# Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act

This bill creates new federal protections for people who work elections and the places where voting happens. Right now, election workers—the poll workers, election officials, and staff who run voting locations—have faced increasing harassment, threats, and intimidation. This bill aims to make it a federal crime to threaten, intimidate, or harm these workers or to interfere with polling places through violence or threats.

The law would apply to anyone who uses force, threats, or intimidation against election workers doing their jobs, or anyone who damages or tries to damage polling places. It also protects the families and homes of election workers from harassment related to their work. The penalties would be serious, potentially including prison time and fines. The bill essentially says that while people can absolutely criticize how elections are run or disagree with election results, crossing the line into threats or violence against the people running elections is now a federal offense.

This matters because election workers are ordinary citizens—often volunteers or part-time employees—who have reported receiving death threats, being stalked, and having their personal information shared online. Many have quit their jobs because of this harassment. By making these actions federal crimes, the bill gives federal law enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute the most serious cases, rather than leaving it entirely to local authorities. It's designed to protect the people who make elections function while still allowing robust debate about election policies and results.