[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9818 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9818
To prohibit the intimidation of election officials and election
workers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 25, 2024
Mr. Deluzio (for himself, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Goldman of New York, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Robert
Garcia of California, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the intimidation of election officials and election
workers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom from Intimidation in
Elections Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITING INTIMIDATION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS AND ELECTION
WORKERS.
Section 11 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``section 3(a), 6, 8, 9,
10, or 12(e)'' and inserting ``section 3(a), 8, 10, or 12(e)'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise,
shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate,
threaten, or coerce any person for exercising any powers or duties to
administer Federal elections, including vote counting, tabulation,
canvassing, and election certification, and any of the duties of the
Election Assistance Commission as set out in section 202 of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20922), or because of the person's
status, or previous status, as a participant in the administration of
Federal elections.''.
SEC. 3. PRESUMPTION THAT FIREARMS NEAR ELECTION-RELATED CONDUCT ARE
INTIMIDATING.
Title I of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 21. ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING INTIMIDATION INVOLVING
FIREARMS.
``(a) Presumption.--
``(1) Voter intimidation.--In any suit to enforce section
11(b), a person shall be presumed to have violated such
section, in the absence of an affirmative showing to the
contrary by a preponderance of the evidence, if such person
displays or carries a visible firearm, imitation firearm, or
antique firearm while interacting with or observing another
person--
``(A) voting or attempting to vote;
``(B) urging or aiding a person voting or
attempting to vote; or
``(C) exercising any powers or duties under section
3(a), 8, 10, or 12(e).
``(2) Intimidation of election officials and election
workers.--In any suit to enforce section 11(c), a person shall
be presumed to have violated such section, in the absence of an
affirmative showing to the contrary by a preponderance of the
evidence, if such person displays or carries a visible firearm,
imitation firearm, or antique firearm while interacting with or
observing another person--
``(A) exercising any powers or duties to administer
elections; or
``(B) due to the person's status, or previous
status, as a participant in the administration of
elections.
``(b) Law Enforcement Officer Exception.--Any law enforcement
officer acting within the scope of the officer's official duties is not
subject to the presumption in subsection (a), but a court may
nonetheless consider a law enforcement officer's possession of a
firearm in determining whether the officer violated subsection (b) or
(c) of section 11.
``(c) Relief.--In a suit to enforce subsection (b) or (c) of
section 11, a court may grant appropriate relief, including placing
reasonable temporary limits on the carrying of firearms by defendants.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `antique firearm' has the meaning given such
term in section 921(a) of title 18. United States Code.
``(2) The term `firearm' has the meaning given such term in
section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.
``(3) The term `imitation firearm'--
``(A) means an article, object or device, replica,
reproduction, or prop gun made or remade to be
reasonably capable of being mistaken for a firearm; and
``(B) includes--
``(i) any weapon, article, item, or device
that is in the nature of an air gun, spring gun
or pistol, or other weapon in which the
propelling force is a spring, an elastic band,
carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or
vapor, or air or compressed air, and that
ejects a bullet or missile smaller than three-
eighths of an inch in diameter with sufficient
force to injure a person that is so
substantially similar in coloration,
configuration, and overall appearance to an
existing firearm or weapon as to lead a
reasonable person to perceive that the device
is a firearm or weapon; and
``(ii) any weapon, including a starter gun,
which will or is designed to fire blank
cartridges that is so substantially similar in
coloration, configuration, and overall
appearance to an existing firearm or weapon as
to lead a reasonable person to perceive that
the device is a firearm or weapon.''.
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