California Moves to Shield Election Worker Privacy Amid Threats

By Tiffany Stecker

Excerpted from Bloomberg

"California election workers would be able to block their addresses from public view under a proposed expansion of a program set up to protect abortion providers from harassment and intimidation.

The state Senate on Wednesday voted 30-3 to pass the measure (S.B. 1131), which is now ready for consideration by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The Assembly had passed it on a vote of 62-0.

“As the midterm elections quickly approach, this legislation is urgently needed to protect the Californians who do the largely thankless but very essential work of ensuring that our elections are free, fair, and effectively administered,” Sen. Josh Newman (D), the bill’s author, said in a statement.

If the measure becomes law, election workers and other public employees who face threats of violence could immediately sign up for a two-year enrollment in the Safe at Home program, with the option to re-enroll. The program redirects participants’ mail to a post-office box so that their residential addresses don’t appear in public records requests.

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Read the full article here.