The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Election Code as it relates to the offense of illegal voting. Under the provisions of the bill, illegal voting would be punishable as a second degree felony unless the person is convicted of the attempt to vote illegally, in which case the punishment would be a state jail felony. Under existing statute, illegal voting is punishable, as is proposed in the bill, until December 2, 2021 and punishable as a Class A misdemeanor after that date. Under the provisions of the bill, the bill would become effective on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session and apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective date.
A second-degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 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. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $4,000.
From fiscal year 2018 through 2020, 39 people were arrested, fewer than ten were placed under direct felony community supervision, and fewer than ten were admitted into a state correctional institution for the offenses of illegal voting or attempted illegal voting under existing statute. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources.