Federal law targets ballot box destruction to protect voting access
H.R. 10927 — To amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prohibit destroying or damaging ballot boxes, and for other purposes. · 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 would amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make it a federal crime to destroy or damage ballot boxes. Without access to the full text, the scope of penalties, enforcement mechanisms, and any additional provisions cannot be determined.
Why we flagged it
The bill's stated purpose is to criminalize ballot box destruction/damage under federal law, a straightforward election-security measure. Without full text, the operative mechanism appears aligned with the title.
What the text implies
- Scope of 'damage' undefined in metadata — could range from minor vandalism to intentional destruction, affecting enforcement breadth.
- Penalty structure unknown — federal vs. state coordination and sentencing guidelines not visible from title alone.
- Interaction with existing state ballot-box laws unclear; may create overlapping or conflicting jurisdiction.
Who it affects
Protecting ballot boxes from destruction or damage directly safeguards voting access and election integrity, which are foundational to democratic participation. Citizens benefit from reduced risk of ballot tampering or loss.
Named in the bill
Voting Rights Act of 1965, House Committee on the Judiciary, 119th Congress
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 full bill text on Oct 31, 2026; 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 targets ballot box destruction to protect voting access” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10927 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.