“To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section sets forth 16 congressional findings affirming the right to vote as fundamental, documenting historical barriers to minority voting removed by constitutional amendments, identifying modern deceptive practices (e.g., false information disseminated to suppress turnout, especially among racial and ethnic minorities), citing post-Shelby County v. Holder voter discrimination cases, referencing foreign interference in 2016 and 2020 elections targeting Black voters, and noting a 2023 conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 241 for conspiring to interfere with voters' rights in the 2016 presidential election.
This section amends the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 10101) to prohibit, within 60 days before a federal election (i.e., any general, primary, runoff, or special election for President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House, or Delegate or Commissioner from a Territory or possession)—(1) knowingly communicating or producing materially false information about the time, place, manner of holding the election, or voter eligibility or restrictions (including penalties for voting or registration status), with intent to impede voting; (2) using an artificial intelligence system (as defined in 15 U.S.C. 9401), including generative artificial intelligence (i.e., AI models generating synthetic content such as images, videos, audio, or text emulating input data), to produce such false information with intent to impede voting; and (3) intentionally hindering, interfering with, or preventing voting or voter registration, including by operating a polling place or ballot box falsely purporting to be official; authorizes a private right of action for preventive relief, including injunctions and reasonable attorney's fees; and makes conforming amendments. This section further amends federal criminal code (18 U.S.C. 594) to criminally prohibit, within 60 days before a federal election, knowingly communicating or producing materially false information about the time or place of the election or voter eligibility or restrictions with intent to impede voting, punishable by fine under title 18 or imprisonment for not more than one year (or both).
This section requires the Attorney General, upon receiving a credible report of materially false information violating 52 U.S.C. 10101(b)(2) (as added by section 3(a)) and determining that state and local election officials have not adequately corrected it, to communicate accurate information to the public via written, electronic, or telephonic means. Such communications must be accurate, objective, limited to necessary corrections, targeted to affected audiences to the extent practicable, and neutral toward candidates, organizations, or political parties. The section further directs the Attorney General to publish, not later than 180 days after enactment, written procedures and standards—including deadlines based on time before an election—after consulting the Election Assistance Commission, state and local election officials, civil rights organizations, voting rights groups, voter protection groups, and other interested community organizations. It authorizes appropriations as necessary for implementation.
This section requires the Attorney General to submit to Congress, not later than 180 days after each general election for federal office, a report compiling all allegations received of deceptive practices under 52 U.S.C. 10101(b)(2) and (3)—as added by section 3(a)—relating to that general election and any primary, runoff, or special election for federal office held in the two preceding years. The report must include (1) a description of each allegation, including its geographic location and the racial, ethnic, and language-minority composition of targeted persons; (2) the investigation status of each allegation; (3) any corrective actions taken under section 4(a); (4) any referrals to other federal, state, or local agencies; (5) to the extent available, any civil actions under 52 U.S.C. 10101(c)(2)—as added by section 3(b); and (6) any criminal prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. 594(b) or (c)—as amended by section 3(c). The report excludes information protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), federal criminal statutes, or other privileged, ongoing-investigation, sealed-proceeding, or nonpublic information that could infringe individual rights or investigation integrity; the Attorney General must make the report publicly available via the internet and other means on the submission date.
This section revises the private right of action provision in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) by (1) redesignating the existing text authorizing any aggrieved person to file a civil action as subparagraph (A) "In general"; and (2) adding subparagraph (B) to clarify that a person aggrieved by a violation of subsection (b)(1)—which prohibits abridging voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude—includes, without limitation, an officer responsible for maintaining order and preventing intimidation, threats, or coercion at or around polling places. Subparagraph (B)(ii) further requires the Attorney General, if receiving a credible report of an actual or likely violation of subsection (b)(1) and determining that state or local officials have not adequately addressed it, to publicly communicate—via written, electronic, or telephonic means—the unlawfulness of such conduct and the responsibilities and resources of state and local officials to prevent or correct it.
This section expands the criminal prohibitions of the National Voter Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 20511)—which penalize knowing and willful voter intimidation or deprivation or defraudment of a fair election process in federal elections (fine under title 18 or imprisonment not more than five years, or both)—by adding as a basis for the latter offense the processing or scanning of ballots, or the tabulating, canvassing, or certifying of voting results.