All across America, election officials are preparing for violence and even
bloodshed at the polls this November.

* Election workers in some states are being trained in how to recognize
exposure to chemical attacks and to administer emergency life-saving
treatments.

* Election workers in Michigan are learning de-escalation techniques.

* And in Arizona, county election offices are being stocked with tourniquets in
the hope that people can be saved from bleeding to death if one of their
limbs is shot off by an attacker with military-grade assault weapons.

Election Day should be a time to celebrate our democracy, imperfect though it
may be. (In fact, it should be a federal holiday to make it easier for people to
vote — but that’s another email.)

Instead, we’re seeing election officials resign in unprecedented numbers over
fears for their own safety and that of their families and employees.

* For example, over half of the counties in both New Mexico and Utah have lost
their top election official.

* In Pennsylvania, an election director or assistant director has left their
job in 60% of the counties throughout the state.

* And in Arizona (again), 12 of the state’s 15 counties have seen their top
election official step down since the 2020 election — including one whose
dogs were poisoned in an act of “intimidation”!

A bill in Congress — the Election Worker Protection Act — would go a long way to protect election workers and the integrity of our
democracy.

The Election Worker Protection Act would provide states with the resources to recruit and train election workers
and ensure these workers’ safety, while also instituting federal safeguards to
shield election workers from intimidation and threats.

This comprehensive legislation was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Dick
Durbin, with more than 20 other senators signed on as co-sponsors, including
Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

But we’re running out of time to pass this bill into law before it’s too late.

Tell Congress: [[link removed]]

Election officials, poll workers, and our democracy itself are facing
unprecedented threats. And the clock is ticking. Pass the Election Worker
Protection Act without delay. [[link removed]]

Click to add your name now. [[link removed]]

Thanks for taking action.

For democracy,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen


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