House Elections Committee hears legislation to protect election workers
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Tonight, the Minnesota House of Representatives Elections Finance and Policy Committee heard legislation to protect election officials from harassment, intimidation, and attempts to interfere with official duties and election infrastructure.
Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Minneapolis) is the author of the legislation and released the following statement:
“Every election cycle, 30,000 of our friends and neighbors, in every community in our state, pitch in to help staff our polling places and run our elections. These are the Minnesotans that make our democracy work by doing the apolitical work of conducting free and fair elections. But in the last three years, the spread of conspiracy theories and lies about elections have made these election workers the target of increasing threats, harassment, and interference. Passing this bill is a critical way we can protect Minnesota’s strong record of local elections administration while providing the legal tools to keep election officials safe and ensure they’re able to carry out their important work.”
Both in Minnesota and nationally, election workers are facing an unprecedented rise in the level of threats, hostility, and attempted interference. This is making it more difficult to hire and retain election judges and election workers to administer elections. The legislation prohibits harassing and intimidating election officials or interfering with the performance of their duties. It safeguards the functions of local election administration from interference.
You can watch video of the hearing here.
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