Congressional Democrats Introduce Bill to Prevent Election Subversion
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, Democrats in the House and Senate introduced a bill that would safeguard against attempted election subversion. The “Preventing Election Subversion Act” was introduced on Tuesday in both the House and Senate by Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Reps. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). The legislation would make it a crime to harass or intimidate election workers, set mandatory distance minimums for poll watchers and ban the removal of local election supervisors by partisan bodies, such as state legislatures or election boards, without cause.
These efforts come as new reports show the extent of Republican efforts to divert power away from election officials and state executives and increase the ability of highly partisan state legislatures to run elections. “This year, the right to vote has been under the worst assault since Jim Crow,” said Congressman Jones in a statement. “Republicans in state houses across the country have gone to outrageous lengths to silence Black and brown voters, introducing over 400 racist voter suppression bills and removing non-partisan election officials who oversee and certify elections. Our bill would protect the independence of local election officials and ensure that future elections are free and fair.”