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(California News Service) With the election six weeks away, concern is building about attempts to intimidate voters at the polls - so, lawmakers are taking action at the state and federal levels.

On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the PEACE Act, which makes California the first state in the nation to state explicitly that openly carrying a gun in or near a polling place constitutes illegal harassment.

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Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights Program for the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, said the measure is important.

"It represents some really commonsense principles. All voters, all election workers, should be able to participate and run our democracy free from intimidation. And visible guns around our elections are intimidating," he said.

A recent survey of election workers from the Brennan Center found that 40 percent report being subject to threats, abuse, or harassment.

On Wednesday, Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif., introduced a bill to ban open carry of firearms in polling places nationwide - noting the country has a long history of scare tactics on Election Day.

"There's individuals out there, stoked by partisan rhetoric and false narratives about election fraud, that have taken it upon themselves to either discourage at a minimum, or sometimes outright intimidate people into not letting their voice be heard in the democratic process," Padilla said.

Both political parties plan to have poll watchers present this year. The Brennan Center has set up a hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE for people to report any efforts to intimidate voters or election workers.