Protect Our Polls Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4845 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4845

 To require explicit Congressional approval for troops or armed men at
 polling places for the only exception in the United States Code, and
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2026

  Ms. Slotkin (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Kelly, Ms.
  Klobuchar, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Warnock) introduced the
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To require explicit Congressional approval for troops or armed men at
 polling places for the only exception in the United States Code, and
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Protect Our Polls Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) sending troops or armed men to the polls has been
        federally criminalized for more than 150 years through under
        the provisions codified in sections 592 and 593 of title 18,
        United States Code, punishable by up to 5 years in prison;
            (2) such section 592 contains a limited exception to this
        prohibition under which troops or armed men may only be used to
        repel armed enemies of the United States; and
            (3) such exception has never been exercised.

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION AND CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL PROCESS FOR TROOPS
              OR ARMED MEN AT POLLS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 592 the following:
``Sec. 592a. Congressional action
    ``(a) Notification Requirement.--Not less than 48 hours before
troops or armed men, including Federal law enforcement officers, are
intended to be sent to any place where a general or special election is
held to repel armed enemies of the United States under section 592, or
any other provision of law, the head of the agency in charge of the
troops or armed men shall transmit to the Majority Leader of the
Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the committees
of jurisdiction (as defined in section 6329b(a) of title 5) over the
agencies to which the troops or armed men report, an unclassified
report containing--
            ``(1) the number of troops or armed men that are expected
        to be sent to places where those elections are being held,
        their unit or units, a description of their responsibilities,
        and the duration of the order;
            ``(2) the specific intelligence that supports the claim
        that armed enemies of the United States are threatening the
        places where those elections are being held, with an
        unclassified summary and a classified annex;
            ``(3) the geographical area to which the troops or armed
        men will be sent, with specificity on the location of the
        places at which they will be stationed;
            ``(4) the legal authorization, if any, used to provide
        affirmative authority for the activation of armed forces;
            ``(5) the training these troops or armed men are given to
        interact with civilian populations; and
            ``(6) the detailed justification that State and local
        forces are unable to repel the armed enemies of the United
        States without Federal intervention.
    ``(b) Congressional Calendar.--
            ``(1) In general.--If, when the report under subsection (a)
        is transmitted, the Congress has adjourned sine die or has
        adjourned for any period, the Speaker of the House of
        Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate, if
        they deem it advisable (or if petitioned by not less than 30
        percent of the membership of their respective Houses) shall
        jointly request the President to convene Congress in order that
        it may consider the report and take appropriate action pursuant
        to this section.
            ``(2) Briefing.--When Congress reconvenes, the Secretary of
        Defense, Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the
        Federal Bureau of Investigation shall immediately provide a
        classified briefing to the Senate and the House of
        Representatives on the armed enemies of the United States
        threat that necessitates the use of troops at places where
        elections are being held.
    ``(c) Expedited Congressional Review.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any use of troops or armed men at any
        place where a general or special election is held for the
        purpose of repelling armed enemies of the United States shall
        only be authorized if Congress, prior to any deployment, enacts
        a joint resolution originating in either House.
            ``(2) Consideration.--
                    ``(A) Committee referral.--A joint resolution under
                paragraph (1) shall be referred to the committee of
                jurisdiction (as defined in section 6329b(a) of title
                5) over the agencies to which the troops or armed men
                report, and such committee shall report one such joint
                resolution not later than 20 hours after transmission
                of the report under section (a), unless such House
                shall otherwise determine by yeas and nays.
                    ``(B) Pending business.--A joint resolution
                reported under subparagraph (A) shall become the
                pending business of the House in question (in the case
                of the Senate the time for debate shall be equally
                divided between the proponents and the opponents), and
                shall be voted on not later than 10 hours thereafter,
                unless such House shall otherwise determine by yeas and
                nays.
                    ``(C) Referral to other house committee.--A joint
                resolution passed by one House under subparagraph (B)
                shall be referred to the committee of the other House
                (as determined under subsection (a)) and shall be
                reported out not later 12 hours before troops or armed
                men are to be sent to polling places to repel armed
                enemies of the United States under section 592. The
                joint resolution so reported shall become the pending
                business of the House in question and shall be voted on
                not later than 6 hours after it has been reported,
                unless such House shall otherwise determine by yeas and
                nays.
    ``(d) Severability.--If any provision of this section, or any
application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to
be unconstitutional, the remainder of this section and the application
of this section to any other person or circumstance shall not be
affected.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 29 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 592 the following:

``592a. Congressional action.''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960.

    (a) In General.--Section 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52
U.S.C. 20701) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Every officer'' and inserting the
        following:
    ``(a) In General.--Every officer'';
            (2) in subsection (a), as so designated, in the second
        sentence, by striking ``this section'' and inserting ``this
        subsection''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Condition on Availability of Funds.--No funds may be
appropriated or otherwise made available to the armed forces, as
defined in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code, or any
Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States
Code, for the purpose of authorizing or ordering any troops or armed
men under the authority or control of such entity to access any record
or paper required under subsection (a) to be retained and preserved,
regardless of the date on which the record or paper came into the
possession of the officer of election or custodian required to retain
and preserve the record or paper.
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent any member of the armed forces, as defined in
section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code, or any individual
under the authority or control of any Executive agency, as defined in
section 105 of title 5, United States Code, from exercising the right
of suffrage in any district to which that individual may belong, if
otherwise qualified according to the laws of the State of such
district.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Title III of the Civil
Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 302 (52 U.S.C. 20702), by striking ``section
        301'' and insert ``section 301(a)''; and
            (2) in section 303 (52 U.S.C. 20703), by striking ``section
        301'' and insert ``section 301(a)''.
    (c) Sunset.--This section and the amendments made by this section
shall cease to have effect on January 20, 2029.
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