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 organized election fraud in the form of paid vote harvesting. Under the provisions of the bill, election fraud would be expanded to include paid vote harvesting punishable by a felony of the third degree. Under existing statute, election fraud is punishable by a Class A Misdemeanor.
A felony of the third degree is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years and, in addition to confinement, 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.
Creating an offense for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to an 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 years 2018 through 2020, fewer than 10 people were arrested, fewer than 10 people were placed on direct community supervision, and fewer than 10 people were admitted into a state correctional institution for election fraud under existing statute. This analysis assumes implementing 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.