Washington, DC — Today, the House passed H.R. 5314, the Protecting Our Democracy Act. This bill includes a key provision spearheaded by Rep. Pete Aguilar. This provision amends the Help America Vote Act to require each state’s chief election official to create a database of elections officials who have received threats and need their personal identifiable information protected to guarantee our nation can hold safe and fair elections. Participants of the program can request anyone, including businesses or government agencies, to remove their PII within 72 hours. This makes it harder for bad actors to access election officials’ information and ensures these officials can support the democratic process without fearing for their lives.

“Elections officials across the country have faced threats against them and their families while upholding our democratic process. Our democracy only works when elections are safe and fair. This provision will help make sure that elections officials will be safe so that they can continue the important work and support our nation’s elections,” said Aguilar.

The Protecting Our Democracy Act is a comprehensive bill that strengthens our nation’s institutions from future presidents who seek to corrupt and abuse the power of their office. This bill removes statutes of limitations to ensure that both president and vice presidents will be held accountable for any criminal actions like every other American, adds penalties for failure to comply with congressional subpoenas, expands whistleblower protections and strengthens enforcement of the Hatch Act to strengthen our nation’s system of checks and balances.

Rep. Aguilar serves on Select Committee to Investigate January 6^th and the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Elections.

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