Emanuel, Obama Praise Passage of Deceptive Practices Bill
Monday, June 25, 2007
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CONTACT:
Ben LaBolt (Obama) or Kathleen Connery (Emanuel)
Legislation will Prohibit and Punish Practices that Keep Voters from Polls on Election Day
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) praised the passage of the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act (H.R. 1281), a bill that will prohibit and punish deceptive practices that seek to intimidate or mislead voters in an effort to keep voters away from the polls on Election Day. U.S. Senator Barack Obama introduced Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, (S. 453), in the Senate on January 31, 2007.
"In November, the country voted for a change in Washington," said Emanuel, the sponsor of H.R. 1281. "This legislation is one more example of how the new Congress is reforming the way Washington does business. This reform will put an end to campaign practices that disenfranchise thousands of American voters and will give citizens the right to cast a ballot free from intimidation and misinformation."
"For too long, tricks and intimidation have kept thousands of Americans from voting and skewed the results of elections." said Senator Obama. "Voting is one of our most solemn obligations and we must ensure that all Americans have equal, unfettered access to the polls. The Senate must now act quickly to pass this bill to make voter intimidation and deceptive election practices illegal.”
Calculated efforts to disenfranchise voters persist each election year. During the 2006 election, thousands of Latino voters in Orange County, California received letters telling them that immigrants who voted would be jailed - implying that this even applied to naturalized citizens. In Maryland, voters received fabricated sample Democratic ballots that featured Republican candidates for governor and senator. And in Virginia, voters were phoned by a fraudulent "Virginia Elections Commission" claiming they were ineligible to vote. These tactics most often target vulnerable communities, such as minorities, the elderly, and the disabled.
The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act will statutorily define "deceptive practices" as "knowing communication of false election-related information with the intent" to disenfranchise another person. Further, the bill will:
- Elevate deceptive practices in elections a felony and increase the penalty to up to $250,000 or five years imprisonment
- Require the Department of Justice to provide voters with accurate election information when allegations of deceptive practices are confirmed
- Direct the Attorney General to initiate action on complaints
- Require the Attorney General to develop ways to disseminate corrective election information
- Require the Attorney General to report to Congress on the allegations of deceptive practices after each federal election
- Require the Attorney General, with the Federal Communications Commission and the Election Assistance Commission, to study using public broadcast systems to provide corrective election information.
The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act was introduced by U.S. Representatives Emanuel, John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Keith Ellison (D-MN).