Testimony on House Bill 1241 in Washington State
House Bill 1241, sponsored by Washington State Representative Mari Leavitt (D-University Place), increases penalties and aligns statutory language in an effort to better protect election officials from harassment. Importantly, the bill also allows election officials facing all forms of harassment to opt into the state’s Address Confidentiality Program, which is designed to shield victims of harassment from public dissemination of personal information.
Matthew Germer, R Street’s resident elections fellow, encouraged the Washington House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee to strengthen protections for election officials, both for the sake of those individuals and their families and to remind the public that harassing behavior toward election officials cannot be tolerated.
Watch the testimony here:
