Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3281 To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 13, 2019 Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. MOORE, Ms. WILD, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COHEN, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LUJA´N, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. CRAIG, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. RYAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. MORELLE, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mrs. LURIA, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. COOPER, Mr. RUSH, Mrs. KIRK- PATRICK, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. PALLONE, Mrs. DAVIS of Cali- fornia, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. SERRANO) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju- diciary A BILL To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Deceptive Practices 4 and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3281 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The right to vote by casting a ballot for 3 one’s preferred candidate is a fundamental right ac- 4 corded to United States citizens by the Constitution, 5 and the unimpeded exercise of this right is essential 6 to the functioning of our democracy. 7 (2) Historically, certain citizens, especially ra- 8 cial, ethnic, and language minorities, were prevented 9 from voting because of significant barriers such as 10 literacy tests, poll taxes, and property ownership re- 11 quirements. 12 (3) Some of these barriers were removed by the 13 15th, 19th, and 24th Amendments to the Constitu- 14 tion. 15 (4) Despite the elimination of some of these 16 barriers to the polls, the integrity of today’s elec- 17 tions is threatened by newer tactics aimed at sup- 18 pressing voter turnout. These tactics include ‘‘decep- 19 tive practices’’, which involve the dissemination of 20 false or misleading information intended to prevent 21 voters from casting their ballots, prevent voters from 22 voting for the candidate of their choice, intimidate 23 the electorate, and undermine the integrity of the 24 electoral process. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3281 IH (5) Furthermore, since the decision in Shelby 1 County v. Holder in which the Supreme Court 2 struck down the coverage formula used by the Vot- 3 ing Rights Act of 1965 to determine which States 4 with a history of racial discrimination must affirma- 5 tively receive government permission before changing 6 local voting laws, there have been Federal court de- 7 cisions finding or affirming that States or localities 8 intentionally discriminated against African Ameri- 9 cans and other voters of color. 10 (6) Denials of the right to vote, and deceptive 11 practices designed to prevent members of racial, eth- 12 nic, and language minorities from exercising that 13 right, are an outgrowth of discriminatory history, in- 14 cluding slavery. Measures to combat denials of that 15 right are a legitimate exercise of congressional power 16 under article I, section 4 and article II, section 1 of, 17 and the 14th and 15th Amendments to, the United 18 States Constitution. 19 (7) For the last few decades, there have been 20 a number of instances of deceptive or intimidating 21 practices aimed towards suppressing minority access 22 to the voting booth that demonstrates the need for 23 strengthened protections. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3281 IH (8) In addition, in at least one instance in 1 1990, thousands of voters reportedly received post- 2 cards providing false information about voter eligi- 3 bility and warnings about criminal penalties for 4 voter fraud. Most of the voters who received the 5 postcards were African American. 6 (9) During the 2004 elections, Native American 7 voters in South Dakota reported being required to 8 provide photographic identification in order to vote, 9 despite the fact that neither State nor Federal law 10 required such identification. 11 (10) In the 2006 midterm elections, thousands 12 of Latino voters received mailings warning them in 13 Spanish that voting in a Federal election as an im- 14 migrant could result in incarceration—despite the 15 fact that any immigrant who is a naturalized citizen 16 of the United States has the same right to vote as 17 any other citizen. 18 (11) In 2008, fliers were distributed in pre- 19 dominantly African-American neighborhoods falsely 20 warning that people with outstanding warrants or 21 unpaid parking tickets could be arrested if they 22 showed up at the polls on Election Day. In the same 23 year, there were reports of people receiving text mes- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3281 IH sages on Election Day asking them to wait until the 1 following day to vote. 2 (12) In 2012, there were reports of voters re- 3 ceiving calls falsely informing them that they could 4 vote via telephone. 5 (13) In the 2016 elections, there were reports 6 of students receiving fliers stating that in order to 7 vote in a local precinct, they had to pay to change 8 their driver’s license and re-register vehicles in the 9 city in which the precinct was located. 10 (14) Those responsible for these and similar ef- 11 forts should be held accountable, and civil and crimi- 12 nal penalties should be available to punish anyone 13 who seeks to keep voters away from the polls by pro- 14 viding false information. 15 (15) Moreover, the Federal Government should 16 help correct such false information in order to assist 17 voters in exercising their right to vote without confu- 18 sion and to preserve the integrity of the electoral 19 process. 20 (16) The Federal Government has a compelling 21 interest in ‘‘protecting voters from confusion and 22 undue influence’’ and in ‘‘preserving the integrity of 23 its election process’’. Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 24 191, 199 (1992). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3281 IH (17) The First Amendment does not preclude 1 the regulation of some intentionally false speech, 2 even if it is political in nature. As the Supreme 3 Court of the United States has recognized, ‘‘[t]hat 4 speech is used as a tool for political ends does not 5 automatically bring it under the protective mantle of 6 the Constitution. For the use of the known lie as a 7 tool is at once at odds with the premises of demo- 8 cratic government and with the orderly manner in 9 which economic, social, or political change is to be 10 effected . . . . Hence the knowingly false statement 11 and the false statement made with reckless disregard 12 of the truth, do not enjoy constitutional protection.’’. 13 Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 75 (1964). 14 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FED- 15 ERAL ELECTIONS. 16 (a) PROHIBITION.—Subsection (b) of section 2004 of 17 the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) is amended— 18 (1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting the 19 following: 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 21 (2) by inserting at the end the following new 22 paragraphs: 23 ‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL 24 ELECTIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3281 IH ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 1 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 2 within 60 days before an election described in 3 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 4 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com- 5 munications, communicate or cause to be com- 6 municated information described in subpara- 7 graph (B), or produce information described in 8 subparagraph (B) with the intent that such in- 9 formation be communicated, if such person— 10 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma- 11 terially false; and 12 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre- 13 vent another person from exercising the 14 right to vote in an election described in 15 paragraph (5). 16 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor- 17 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 18 information is regarding— 19 ‘‘(i) the time, place, or manner of 20 holding any election described in para- 21 graph (5); or 22 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric- 23 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec- 24 tion, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3281 IH ‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso- 1 ciated with voting in any such elec- 2 tion; or 3 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 4 voter’s registration status or eligi- 5 bility. 6 ‘‘(3) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC 7 ENDORSEMENTS.— 8 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 9 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 10 within 60 days before an election described in 11 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 12 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com- 13 munications, communicate, or cause to be com- 14 municated, a materially false statement about 15 an endorsement, if such person— 16 ‘‘(i) knows such statement to be false; 17 and 18 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre- 19 vent another person from exercising the 20 right to vote in an election described in 21 paragraph (5). 22 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF ‘MATERIALLY 23 FALSE’.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 24 statement about an endorsement is ‘materially 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3281 IH false’ if, with respect to an upcoming election 1 described in paragraph (5)— 2 ‘‘(i) the statement states that a spe- 3 cifically named person, political party, or 4 organization has endorsed the election of a 5 specific candidate for a Federal office de- 6 scribed in such paragraph; and 7 ‘‘(ii) such person, political party, or 8 organization has not endorsed the election 9 of such candidate. 10 ‘‘(4) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE- 11 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.—No 12 person, whether acting under color of law or other- 13 wise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, or 14 prevent another person from voting, registering to 15 vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 16 vote in an election described in paragraph (5). 17 ‘‘(5) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election de- 18 scribed in this paragraph is any general, primary, 19 run-off, or special election held solely or in part for 20 the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate 21 for the office of President, Vice President, presi- 22 dential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of 23 the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Com- 24 missioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3281 IH (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 2 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) 3 is amended— 4 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person’’ 5 and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(1) Whenever any person’’; and 7 (B) by adding at the end the following new 8 paragraph: 9 ‘‘(2) Any person aggrieved by a violation of 10 subsection (b)(2), (b)(3), or (b)(4) may institute a 11 civil action for preventive relief, including an appli- 12 cation in a United States district court for a perma- 13 nent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or 14 other order. In any such action, the court, in its dis- 15 cretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable 16 attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’. 17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 18 (A) Subsection (e) of section 2004 of the 19 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(e)) is 20 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in- 21 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 22 (B) Subsection (g) of section 2004 of the 23 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(g)) is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3281 IH amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 2 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 3 (1) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Section 594 of title 18, 4 United States Code, is amended— 5 (A) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting 6 the following: 7 ‘‘(a) INTIMIDATION.—Whoever’’; 8 (B) in subsection (a), as inserted by sub- 9 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘at any election’’ 10 and inserting ‘‘at any general, primary, run-off, 11 or special election’’; and 12 (C) by adding at the end the following new 13 subsections: 14 ‘‘(b) DECEPTIVE ACTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL 16 ELECTIONS.— 17 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 18 for any person, whether acting under color of 19 law or otherwise, within 60 days before an elec- 20 tion described in subsection (e), by any means, 21 including by means of written, electronic, or tel- 22 ephonic communications, to communicate or 23 cause to be communicated information de- 24 scribed in subparagraph (B), or produce infor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3281.IH H3281 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3281 IH mation described in subparagraph (B) with the 1 intent that such information be communicated, 2 if such person— 3 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma- 4 terially false; and 5 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to mislead voters, 6 or the intent to impede or prevent another 7 person from exercising the right to vote in 8 an election described in subsection (e). 9 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor- 10 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 11 information is regardin [Text truncated for display. 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