{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/with-threats-on-rise-king-backs-legislation-to-protect-election-workers", "With Threats on Rise, King Backs Legislation to Protect Election Workers", "2022-09-26", "2022", "2022-09", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with oversight over federal elections, is cosponsoring comprehensive legislation to address the rise in threats targeting election workers. The Election Worker Protection Act would provide states with the resources to recruit and train election workers and ensure these workers\u2019 safety, while also instituting federal safeguards to shield election workers from intimidation and threats. The bill includes provisions that were developed with input from election officials across the nation \u2013 including Maine\u2019s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.\n\n\u201cDemocracy doesn\u2019t run itself \u2013 it takes thousands of hardworking people working across the country to ensure Americans\u2019 voices are heard,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cAs threats against election officials rise, we have a responsibility to protect these patriotic Americans as they work to maintain the foundation of our historically rare democracy. Along with funding for additional training and recruitment, the Election Worker Protection Act will give election workers the support they need to do their jobs and stay safe from those seeking to undermine our very system of government. It is sad and deeply frustrating that this bill even needs to be discussed, but with the continuing prevalence of anti-democracy conspiracy theories pushed by extreme political factions, I fear it has become a necessity.\u201d\n\nA group of 15 Secretaries of State, including Maine\u2019s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, joined a letter supporting the Election Worker Protection Act and calling on Congress to take action to protect election workers.\n\n\u201cAdditional action is needed at the federal level to ensure that all election workers have the necessary support and protection to do their jobs. The Election Worker Protection Act makes clear that these attacks on election workers will not be tolerated,\u201d wrote the Secretaries. \u201cWe know what tools are needed to protect election workers, and we look forward to working with Congress to advance this legislation.\u201d\n\nThe Election Worker Protection Act would:\n\nEstablish grants to states and certain local governments for poll worker recruitment, training, and retention, as well as grants for election worker safety;\n\nDirect the Department of Justice to provide training resources regarding the identification and investigation of threats to election workers;\n\nProvide grants to states to support programs protecting election workers\u2019 personally identifiable information;\n\nEstablish threatening, intimidating, or coercing election workers as a federal crime;\n\nExpand the prohibition on voter intimidation in current law to apply to the counting of ballots, canvassing, and certification of elections;\n\nExtend the federal prohibition on doxing to include election workers; and\n\nProtect the authority of election officials to remove poll observers who are interfering with or attempting to disrupt the administration of an election.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/with-threats-on-rise-king-backs-legislation-to-protect-election-workers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8363118395209312, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}