Highlight any text to annotate

The Protect Our Polls Act requires explicit Congressional approval before federal troops or armed law enforcement officers can be deployed to polling places, even in extreme circumstances. Currently, federal law has prohibited armed personnel at polls for over 150 years with only one narrow exception: when troops are needed to repel armed enemies of the United States, but this exception has never been used. Under this bill, any agency seeking to use troops at polling locations would need to notify Congress at least 48 hours in advance with detailed information about the threat, number of personnel, and why state and local forces cannot handle the situation, after which Congress must pass a joint resolution authorizing the deployment before any troops can be sent. The expedited review process gives Congress strict timelines, with committees having 20 hours to report on the authorization request and each chamber having 10 to 6 hours respectively to vote, ensuring rapid but deliberate Congressional consideration. The bill also restricts federal funds from being used by troops or agencies to access election records and includes a sunset provision that expires the changes on January 20, 2029.

Add a comment

Sign in to comment on this bill.

Annotate the text

Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.