Bill would add new protections for election workers
Officially: Election Worker Protection Act of 2025
Election workers would get new safety, training, and privacy protections. The bill also creates a new federal crime for threatening or harassing them and lets officials remove disruptive poll observers in federal elections.
Where it stands
Sitting in Rules and Administration
No vote scheduled. Constituent contact is what moves bills out of committee.
- Creates two new federal grant programs under the Help America Vote Act. One pays for recruiting and training poll workers and election volunteers, and the other pays for physical security and social media threat monitoring for election workers.
- Makes the Election Assistance Commission create and use training materials with help from adult-learning experts. Those materials must also help workers serve voters from different backgrounds, including people with limited English and people with disabilities.
- Makes states and local governments use this money to add to current spending, not replace it. It also requires some recruiting to focus on young people, minors, and diversity.
↓ Why your message matters here
This bill is sitting in committee with no scheduled vote — which means a small number of constituent messages can decide whether it moves forward or quietly dies.
The debate
What people are saying about this bill
- Could help election offices keep experienced workers and bring in new ones. Safety and privacy protections may make people less afraid to serve.
- Could make election staffing and voter service more consistent across the country. The bill pays for training and recruiting instead of leaving each area to manage on its own.
- Makes threats against election workers clearly a federal crime. That gives police and prosecutors stronger tools to investigate and charge these cases.
- Could expand federal power over elections. Some people think states and local governments, not the federal government or the FBI, should handle most of this.
- Could lead to open-ended federal spending. The bill authorizes whatever sums are needed, so future budget costs are not clearly capped.
- Could give officials too much discretion to remove poll observers. The "reasonable basis" standard may be seen as too vague and could be applied unevenly.
Where this bill is in the process
Legislative timeline
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
Senate Committee
Under Senate committee consideration
Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. (6/18/2025)
Senate Floor Vote
Voted on by Senate
Passed Senate
Approved by Senate
House Review
Sent to House for consideration
Passed Both Chambers
Approved by both House and Senate
Signed into Law
Signed by the President
For more detail