Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB47 by Schofield (Relating to the prevention of fraud in the conduct of early voting by mail; creating criminal offenses; increasing criminal penalties.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Election Code relating to the prevention of fraud in the conduct of early voting by mail, create a new criminal offense, expand the circumstances for the prosecution of certain offenses, and increase criminal penalties for certain offenses in this code.
Under the provisions of the bill, unlawful mail ballot activity by a person other than a voter would become a criminal offense and be punishable by a Class A misdemeanor or felony depending upon the circumstances of the offense. The bill would also increase the penalty for engaging in certain voting related activities in violation of the Election Code. The punishment for these offenses would range from a misdemeanor to a felony with the punishment level based on the specific circumstances of the offense.
A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years, a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years, and a state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or Class A misdemeanor punishment. In addition to confinement, most felony offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Creating a new criminal offense, expanding the list of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied, and enhancing the punishment for existing offenses are expected to result in increased demands on the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to longer terms of supervision in the community or longer terms of confinement within state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2016, fewer than 10 individuals were arrested, fewer than 10 were placed under felony community supervision, and fewer than 10 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the violations of the Election Code specified in the bill. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on the demand for state correctional resources.