A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning the creation of the "Freedom From Intimidation
Page 1, Line 102In Elections Act" to prohibit an individual from
Page 1, Line 103intimidating, threatening, or coercing any individual
Page 1, Line 104for engaging in certain election-related activities.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
The bill creates the "Freedom From Intimidation In Elections Act", which prohibits any individual from intimidating, threatening, or coercing or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual for:
- Voting or attempting to vote;
- Urging or aiding any individual to vote or attempt to vote;
- Exercising any powers or duties to administer elections, including vote counting, canvassing, and election certification; or
- The individual's status as a past or present participant in the administration of elections.
The bill specifies that an individual who carries a visible firearm, imitation firearm, or toy firearm while interacting with or observing any of the specified election-related activities is presumed, in the absence of any affirmative showing to the contrary, to have engaged in intimidation prohibited by the bill.
An aggrieved individual, an election official, a designated election official, the secretary of state, or the attorney general may enforce the provisions of the bill. A suit brought by an election official, a designated election official, the secretary of state, or the attorney general does not preclude a contemporaneous private suit by an aggrieved individual to enforce the provisions of the bill.
In a suit to enforce the provisions of the bill, a court may grant relief enjoining the use or carrying of firearms by a defendant beyond the areas defined in current law. To prevail in a suit to enforce the provisions of the bill, a plaintiff is not required to prove that a defendant intended to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual, except to prove an attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce.
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
Page 2, Line 3(a) The United States, including Colorado, has a history of
Page 2, Line 4intimidation in elections. Often, election intimidation has been targeted
Page 2, Line 5at voters of color, prompting federal legislation as far back as the federal
Page 2, Line 6"Enforcement Acts" of 1870 and 1871, through the enactment of section
Page 2, Line 711(b) of the federal "Voting Rights Act of 1965", 52 U.S.C. sec. 10101 et seq.
Page 2, Line 8(b) Colorado has also been the site of election-related intimidation
Page 2, Line 9in recent history. For example:
Page 3, Line 1(I) In 2020, the Colorado attorney general sent a cease and desist
Page 3, Line 2letter to a mobile home park owner who had engaged in voter intimidation;
Page 3, Line 3(II) In 2022, dozens of individuals shouted at election workers
Page 3, Line 4inside the El Paso county clerk and recorder's office and recorded them
Page 3, Line 5while they were conducting a recount of votes in a nominating contest for
Page 3, Line 6the 2022 midterms. A group in the building prayed for "evil to descend" on the "election team".
Page 3, Line 7(III) Since 2023 alone, the Colorado secretary of state says she has received over 1,000 threats of violence or death; and
Page 3, Line 8(IV) In 2024, a Cortez resident pleaded guilty to making
Page 3, Line 9numerous violent threats and statements against Colorado election officials.
Page 3, Line 10(c) Since 2020, approximately 40% of local election officials in
Page 3, Line 11Colorado have left their positions. Colorado's rate of election official
Page 3, Line 12departure was higher than the national average in 2024, which had also
Page 3, Line 13dramatically increased over the past 4 years. During the 2024 election, at
Page 3, Line 14least one top election official had left in 25 of Colorado's 64 counties. In
Page 3, Line 15other words, 39% of the officials in charge of the 2024 presidential
Page 3, Line 16election were new to the job. The state has seen a net loss of 126 years of election experience.
Page 3, Line 17(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that:
Page 3, Line 18(a) The "Freedom From Intimidation In Elections Act" is intended
Page 3, Line 19to supplement existing anti-intimidation law under section 11(b) of the
Page 3, Line 20federal "Voting Rights Act of 1965", 52 U.S.C. sec. 10101 et seq., by,
Page 3, Line 21among other things, providing specific, explicit protections for election
Page 3, Line 22workers and acknowledging that in this era of increased firearm violence
Page 4, Line 1and election denialism, the presence of firearms in proximity to elections
Page 4, Line 2is presumptively intimidating. The "Freedom From Intimidation In
Page 4, Line 3Elections Act" should not be construed, however, to suggest that other
Page 4, Line 4anti-intimidation laws do not protect election workers or protect against the use of firearms to intimidate voters and election workers.
Page 4, Line 5(b) Colorado law already criminalizes the intimidation of voters
Page 4, Line 6and election officials in the election process. Colorado law also prohibits
Page 4, Line 7any person from carrying a firearm inside or near locations used for
Page 4, Line 8voting and counting ballots. The "Freedom From Intimidation In
Page 4, Line 9Elections Act" is not intended to, and should not be read to, limit or
Page 4, Line 10replace those prohibitions. Instead, the "Freedom From Intimidation In Elections Act" is a supplement to those existing protections.
Page 4, Line 11(c) Because election administration and voting take place in a
Page 4, Line 12number of locations including, but not limited to, polling places, elections
Page 4, Line 13and other government offices, ballot drop boxes, and people's homes, the
Page 4, Line 14term "voting", as defined by the "Freedom From Intimidation In Elections
Page 4, Line 15Act", is intended to be read expansively to include all forms and methods of voting permitted under federal and state law; and
Page 4, Line 16(d) The general assembly has compelling interests in protecting
Page 4, Line 17both public safety and individual rights, including the fundamental right
Page 4, Line 18to vote. It is the general assembly's intent and purpose in enacting the
Page 4, Line 19"Freedom From Intimidation In Elections Act" to help preserve the right
Page 4, Line 20to vote by securing the safety and freedom of our elections and allowing
Page 4, Line 21voters, election workers, and other officials who conduct our elections to play their roles free from intimidation.
Page 4, Line 22SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 1-13-726 as
Page 4, Line 23follows:
Page 5, Line 11-13-726. Intimidation of voters or election officials - civil
Page 5, Line 2enforcement - short title - definitions. (1) Short title.The short title
Page 5, Line 3of this section is the "Freedom From Intimidation In Elections Act".
Page 5, Line 4(2) Definitions.As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
Page 5, Line 5(a) "Firearm" has the same meaning as set forth in section 18-1-901 (3)(h).
Page 5, Line 6(b) "Imitation firearm" means an object or device
Page 5, Line 7reasonably capable of being mistaken for a firearm or for a
Page 5, Line 8weapon that uses compressed air or another gas to fire a projectile.
Page 5, Line 9(c) "Voting" includes all actions necessary to make a vote
Page 5, Line 10effective in any primary, special, odd-year, or general election,
Page 5, Line 11including, but not limited to, registration or other actions
Page 5, Line 12required by law as a prerequisite to voting, casting a ballot by
Page 5, Line 13any method permitted by law, and having a ballot counted
Page 5, Line 14properly and included in the appropriate totals of votes cast
Page 5, Line 15with respect to candidates for public or party office and ballot
Page 5, Line 16issues and ballot questions for which votes are received in an election.
Page 5, Line 17(3) Election-related intimidation prohibited.An individual,
Page 5, Line 18whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall not
Page 5, Line 19intimidate, threaten, or coerce or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual for any of the following:
Page 5, Line 20(a) Voting or attempting to vote;
Page 5, Line 21(b) Urging or aiding any individual to vote or attempt to
Page 6, Line 1vote, whether as part of official election administration activity or otherwise;
Page 6, Line 2(c) Exercising any powers or duties to administer
Page 6, Line 3elections, including vote counting, canvassing, and election
Page 6, Line 4certification pursuant to the "Uniform Election Code of 1992"; or
Page 6, Line 5(d) The individual's status as a past or present participant in the administration of elections.
Page 6, Line 6(4) Presumption of engaging in election-related intimidation.
Page 6, Line 7An individual who carries a visible firearm, imitation firearm, or
Page 6, Line 8toy firearm while interacting with or observing any of the
Page 6, Line 9activities described in subsection (3) of this section is presumed,
Page 6, Line 10in the absence of any affirmative showing to the contrary by a
Page 6, Line 11preponderance of the evidence, to have engaged in intimidation
Page 6, Line 12prohibited by this section. Law enforcement officers acting
Page 6, Line 13within the scope of their official duties are not subject to this
Page 6, Line 14presumption; except that a court may consider a law
Page 6, Line 15enforcement officer's possession of a firearm in determining whether the officer violated subsection (3) of this section.
Page 6, Line 16(5) Right to enforce. (a) Any aggrieved individual has the
Page 6, Line 17right to enforce subsection (3) of this section in a suit at law or
Page 6, Line 18in equity, or both. A prevailing plaintiff in any such action is
Page 6, Line 19entitled to the recovery of reasonable attorney's fees,
Page 6, Line 20reasonable expert fees, reasonable litigation expenses, and any
Page 6, Line 21other fees or costs that are deemed appropriate by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Page 6, Line 22(b) An election official, designated election official, or
Page 7, Line 1the secretary of state has the right to enforce the provisions of
Page 7, Line 2subsection (3) of this section and may institute an action for
Page 7, Line 3equitable relief on behalf of an aggrieved individual who is in
Page 7, Line 4the election official's, desginated election official's, or
Page 7, Line 5secretary of state's jurisdiction or is eligible to vote in such jurisdiction.
Page 7, Line 6(c) The attorney general has the right to enforce
Page 7, Line 7subsection (3) of this section and may institute for the state, or
Page 7, Line 8in the name of the state, an action for equitable relief,
Page 7, Line 9including an application for a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order, or other order.
Page 7, Line 10(d) A suit brought by an election official, designated
Page 7, Line 11election official, or the secretary of state pursuant to
Page 7, Line 12subsection (5)(b) of this section or by the attorney general
Page 7, Line 13pursuant to subsection (5)(c) of this section to enforce
Page 7, Line 14subsection (3) of this section does not preclude a
Page 7, Line 15contemporaneous private suit by an aggrieved individual to enforce subsection (3) of this section.
Page 7, Line 16(6) Relief. (a) In a suit to enforce the provisions of
Page 7, Line 17subsection (3) of this section, a court may grant relief enjoining
Page 7, Line 18a defendant from the use or carrying of firearms beyond the
Page 7, Line 19areas described in section 1-13-724 or 18-12-105.3. This section
Page 7, Line 20does not limit the court's authority to grant any other just and equitable relief.
Page 7, Line 21(b) To prevail in a suit to enforce subsection (3) of this
Page 7, Line 22section, a plaintiff is not required to prove that a defendant
Page 7, Line 23intended to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual,
Page 8, Line 1except to prove an attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce. A
Page 8, Line 2court may nonetheless consider evidence of intent in determining the appropriate relief.
Page 8, Line 3SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
Page 8, Line 4determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
Page 8, Line 5preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
Page 8, Line 6the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.