Election Worker Protection Act of 2025

Summary

Creates new federal protections for people who run or help at Federal elections by making threats against them a federal crime, setting penalties, and directing law enforcement to investigate such threats. It funds grant programs to protect election workers’ personal data, requires Justice Department training and prosecutor guidance, expands existing federal intimidation laws to cover vote processing activities, and lets election officials remove disruptive observers during Federal election vote tabulation and certification. Also requires the Attorney General to set up a grants program and for the FBI to assign an agent in each field office to investigate threats to election workers, directs reporting to Congress on grant spending, and updates statutes that prohibit doxxing to cover election officials, poll workers, and volunteers.

• Creates a new federal crime for intimidating, threatening, or coercing election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers, with fines up to $100,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment.
• Directs the FBI to assign one special agent in each field office to investigate threats against election workers.
• Authorizes DOJ grant funding to States and local governments to protect personally identifiable information (PII) of election workers and to develop related policies and database changes.
• Requires the Attorney General to review and expand DOJ training for Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement and make prosecutor training available on threats to election workers.
• Expands federal intimidation law to cover ballot processing, tabulation, canvassing, and certification activities.
• Adds election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers to the federal anti‑doxxing statute’s protected-person list.
• Gives State and local election officials explicit authority to remove poll observers who reasonably appear likely to intimidate, deceive, or disrupt vote processing or counting during Federal elections.
• Requires grantees to report spending to the Comptroller General and requires GAO reporting to Congress on fund use.
• Authorizes unspecified funding ("such sums as may be necessary") for the grant program; implementation includes specific deadlines (180 days, 1 year, Jan 1, 2026).