The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The provisions of the bill addressed by this analysis would amend various codes as they relate to the integrity and security of elections. Under the provisions of the bill, the offense of election fraud would be expanded to include certain counting and reporting behaviors, and the new offense of paid vote harvesting would be punishable as a third degree felony. Under existing statute, election fraud is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, but may be punishable as a state jail felony in certain circumstances.
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 felonies can be 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.
Expanding the set of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied, and creating a new offense for which a criminal penalty is applied, are 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. From fiscal year 2018 to 2020, fewer than 10 people were arrested and fewer than 10 were placed on direct community supervision for election fraud offenses 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.