Federal law now explicitly criminalizes violence against election workers.
H.R. 10926 — Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act · Filed by Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Oct 29, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill adds federal criminal penalties for violence, threats, or intimidation directed at election workers, poll watchers, and voters, and for damaging polling places or election infrastructure. It protects anyone assisting in election administration—including contractors and vendors—and requires the Attorney General to certify that federal prosecution is necessary before the U.S. can bring charges.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is adding federal criminal penalties for violence, threats, and intimidation targeting election workers, voters, and election infrastructure. It is a straightforward public-safety measure with no riders or private beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Federal prosecution requires Attorney General certification, creating a potential political chokepoint if the AG declines to certify cases involving politically motivated violence against election workers.
- The bill protects contractors and vendors assisting election officials, extending federal protection beyond government employees to private-sector election workers—a significant expansion of the protected class.
- De minimis damage exclusion (subsection 3) may create litigation over what constitutes trivial damage, potentially leaving minor vandalism of polling places unprotected.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Election workers and voters gain explicit federal criminal protection against violence, threats, and intimidation—a direct safeguard for democratic participation and the safety of people administering elections. The requirement for Attorney General certification prevents federal overreach while preserving state jurisdiction.
Named in the bill
Voting Rights Act of 1965, Attorney General, election officials, poll watchers, election workers, polling places, election infrastructure
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Oct 29, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 29, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,859 characters) on Oct 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-31.
“Federal law now explicitly criminalizes violence against election workers.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10926 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.