Sponsors (2)
The bill makes it easier for veterans, military families, and people with disabilities to obtain paid election-work positions and lets jurisdictions prioritize those groups to strengthen staffing, while raising legal risks, administrative burdens, and the possibility that some local applicants will lose out on short-term jobs.
State and local election offices can prioritize experienced or committed groups (e.g., veterans, military families, people with disabilities) when staffing elections, helping ensure more reliable, better-staffed election operations.
Veterans and people with disabilities gain increased access to paid election-worker jobs through formal hiring preferences, boosting employment opportunities and civic participation for those groups.
Nonresident military spouses and dependents cannot be denied election-work hiring solely for lacking local residence, preserving job access for military families who move frequently.
Jurisdictions that adopt hiring preferences could face lawsuits alleging unlawful discrimination, creating legal risk, costs, and potential disruptions to election administration.
Formal hiring preferences for veterans, military families, or people with disabilities may reduce paid election opportunities for some local applicants, shifting who benefits from limited short-term jobs.
Broadly defining disability for hiring preferences could increase administrative burdens and ADA-related accommodation costs for jurisdictions that must recruit, hire, and support workers with disabilities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes state and local jurisdictions to give hiring preferences to veterans, people with disabilities, and certain nonresident military spouses/dependents for election-worker positions.
Official title: To clarify that a State or local jurisdiction may give preference to individuals who are veterans or individuals with a disability with respect to hiring election workers to administer an election in the State or local jurisdiction, and for other purposes.
Introduced October 10, 2025 by Gabe Evans · Last progress October 10, 2025
Allows state and local election officials to give hiring preferences to veterans and to people with disabilities when hiring election workers, and permits preference for certain nonresident military spouses or dependents while prohibiting denial of hire solely because they don’t live in the jurisdiction. Defines “individual with a disability” using the familiar substantial-limitation standard and ties the nonresident military spouse/dependent definition to the absent uniformed services voter cross-reference in federal law.