Democrats plan to introduce legislation in the House and Senate on Tuesday to combat new laws in Republican-run states that could lead to the subversion of fair elections by partisan officials.

The new bills come in response to measures passed by Republican-majority state legislatures and signed into law by Republican governors that make it easier for partisan legislatures to purge state election boards and local election supervisors and replace them without cause with partisan officials. These state laws follow former President Donald Trump s pressure campaign against state and local election officials to overturn his 2020 reelection loss based on false claims of widespread voter fraud.

The anti-election bills will institute a new federal safeguard for local election supervisors or superintendents by forbidding their removal by partisan state election boards or legislatures for any reason other than for cause. Recent election subversion laws enacted at the state level by Republicans have allowed removal for no reason at all. The new measures introduced by Democrats will also provide a for cause standard.

Local and county election officials subject to removal by a state election board or other entity will also be allowed under the Democratic bill to move that process to a federal court.

The bills will also make it a federal crime to intimidate, threaten, coerce or harass election workers, or to attempt to do so. They will also require poll observers to maintain a minimum distance from any voter or ballot during early voting and on an election day.

This push to counter election subversion comes alongside the efforts by congressional Democrats to pass the For the People Act, a sweeping package of voting rights, campaign finance, redistricting and ethics reforms, also known as H.R. 1. The For the People Act, which passed the House in May, faces its first test in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon when it is expected to face a Republican filibuster.

The election subversion bills are being introduced as standalone legislation by Reps. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) and Colin Allred (D-Texas) in the House and Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in the Senate. The intention is to make these bills part of the For the People Act in an amendment when the bill is brought to the Senate floor again.