Washington legislators push bill making it a felony to threaten election workers

The Washington State Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday that would make harassment of election workers a felony. It comes three months after four county election offices were forced to evacuate after receiving envelopes containing suspicious powder (including three people who tested positive for fentanyl).

“This is something we cannot accept as normal,” Democratic Sen. Manka Dhingra said during the vote. “We want to make sure that election workers are protected, that people participating and participating in our democracy have confidence that the system works well, and that there are no bad actors who are actually going to disrupt the vote count. We have to make sure we’re doing it.”

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The bill is part of a nationwide effort to strengthen protections for these workers ahead of the 2024 election amid increasing threats stemming in part from false claims of the 2020 election by former President Donald Trump and his allies. This is one of a wave of bills. It was stolen.

Twenty-three states are considering legislation addressing protections, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen. In Maryland, for example, lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow authorities to prosecute people who threaten to harm election workers or their immediate families.

Washington’s bill would increase the penalty for harassing election officials in person or by mail from up to one year in prison to up to five years in prison. Eligible workers will also have the opportunity to participate in a program run by the Secretary of State’s office to keep their addresses confidential.

The measure has already been approved by the House, but must return to the House for verification before heading to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk. Mike Faulk, a spokesman for the Democratic governor, said in an email that he had not reviewed the bill in detail, but that Inslee “generally supports efforts to protect the democratic process and the people who run it.” said.

Some Republicans called for the bill to include protections for election observers and those collecting signatures for initiatives.

“I would say they are not physically protected,” Republican Sen. Keith Wagoner said during a vote on an amendment to protect those collecting signatures. “They don’t live in imposing buildings like our elected officials do. They don’t have access to security, but they’re vulnerable.”

The amendment failed, with Dhingra explaining that the individuals collecting signatures were already protected by harassment laws.

The bill comes two years after the state made online harassment of election workers a felony. Democratic Rep. Mari Levitt, the sponsor of the latest bill, said the bill would better align penalties for in-person and virtual threats.

“Our election workers are the unsung heroes,” she told The Associated Press. “They are workers in a democracy and we need to show them that we value them and we want them to feel safe coming to work and this will do that.” That’s one way to do that.”

In November, four county election offices in Washington were evacuated the day after Election Day after receiving envelopes containing gunpowder and a message that read, “End the election now.” Three people tested positive for fentanyl, according to a spokesperson for the Secretary of State in Washington.

Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer, whose election office was evacuated, said more than 100 employees were evacuated that morning, hazardous materials teams along with the FBI and fire department swarmed the area, and emergency crews opened the site. He said he remembers checking on the employees who had done so. The letter was safe.

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“It was scary,” she said. “I felt nauseous and was really scared for the staff member who opened the letter, but I put on a brave face for them.”