# 119-hr-10497: Protect Our Polls Act

119-hr-10497, Protect Our Polls Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] (D-PA); status introduced (as of 2026-10-31).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10497
- As of: 2026-10-31
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10497
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protect Our Polls Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] (D-PA)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-31

## Summary

**Requires explicit Congressional authorization before deploying troops or armed persons at polling places.** This bill would lock in a formal, expedited joint-resolution process and add short-term limits on federal access to election records while preserving voting rights.

## Cosponsors (8)

- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32] (D-CA), 2026-10-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tran, Derek [D-CA-45] (D-CA), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Congress must approve armed election deployments: benefit, low. If enacted, agencies would have to send Congress an unclassified report at least 48 hours before sending troops or other armed personnel to an election site to repel armed enemies. The report would identify who, where, why, the legal authority, training, supporting intelligence, and why state or lo…
- Limits on election-record access and voting rights: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would bar making funds available to the armed forces or an Executive agency to authorize or order armed personnel to access election records that officers or custodians are required to keep. That ban would apply no matter when those records were received and would end on Januar…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-10497 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10497)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10497 (as of 2026-10-31).