Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3425 by Laubenberg (Relating to aid provided to certain voters; providing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Election Code as it relates to aid provided to certain voters. Under the provisions of the bill, the offense of carrier envelope action by a person other than a voter would be expanded to include depositing, in an election, more than two carrier envelopes containing ballots voted by other persons in the mail. Certain individuals engaging in this activity would commit a state jail felony.
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 and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Expanding the list of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in increased demands on the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to a potential increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term 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 offense of carrier envelope action by a person other than a voter under existing statute. 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.