S. 2912 — Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2025

This section sets forth 16 congressional findings on the fundamental right to vote, historical barriers to minority voting (e.g., literacy tests, poll taxes) removed by constitutional amendments, modern deceptive practices and intimidation tactics aimed at suppressing minority turnout (e.g., false information via mail, calls, social media), foreign interference in U.S. elections (e.g., Russian campaigns targeting Black voters in 2016 and 2020), and the need for strengthened protections under congressional authority, including citing the 2023 conviction of Douglass Mackey under 18 U.S.C. §241 for conspiring to interfere with voters' rights.

This section amends subsection (b) of section 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), which prohibits intimidation, threats, or coercion to interfere with voting rights, to (1) prohibit, within 60 days before a federal election, knowingly communicating or producing materially false information about the time, place, manner, voter qualifications or restrictions (including penalties for voting or registration status), or eligibility with intent to impede voting; (2) separately prohibit using an artificial intelligence system, including generative artificial intelligence (defined as 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 (with "artificial intelligence" defined per 15 U.S.C. 9401); (3) prohibit intentionally hindering, interfering with, or preventing voting or voter registration, including by operating fake polling places or ballot boxes purporting to be official; and (4) define covered federal elections as any general, primary, runoff, or special election for President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Senator, Representative, or territorial Delegate or Commissioner. The section further amends 52 U.S.C. 10101(c) to authorize any aggrieved person to bring a civil action for preventive relief, including injunctions, against violations, with courts able to award reasonable attorney's fees to prevailing parties; makes conforming amendments to subsections (e) and (g); and amends 18 U.S.C. 594 (prohibiting intimidation at elections) to criminalize similar deceptive communications or production of false statements regarding time, place, or voter eligibility within 60 days before a federal election, with penalties including fines, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

This section requires the Attorney General, if receiving a credible report of materially false information violating prohibitions under 52 U.S.C. 10101(b)(2) (as added by section 3(a)) and determining that state and local election officials have not taken adequate corrective steps, to communicate accurate, objective, and nonpartisan information designed solely to correct it, using means targeted to reach affected persons. The section further directs the Attorney General to publish written procedures and standards for such actions within 180 days of enactment—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 organizations; and authorizes appropriations as necessary to carry out these requirements.

This section directs the Attorney General to submit to Congress, no 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)-(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 preceding two years. The report must describe (1) 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) corrective actions taken under section 4(a); (4) referrals to other federal, state, or local agencies; (5) 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 Attorney General must exclude grand jury, privileged, ongoing investigation, sealed proceeding, or other nonpublic information reasonably expected to harm individuals or investigations and must publicly release the report on the submission date.

This section revises the private right of action provision for voting rights violations (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)(2)) by (1) designating the existing general authorization for any aggrieved person to sue as subparagraph (A); and (2) adding subparagraph (B) to specify that, for violations of the prohibition on intimidation, threats, or coercion interfering with the right to vote (i.e., subsection (b)(1)), an aggrieved person includes an officer responsible for maintaining order and preventing such conduct at polling locations. Subparagraph (B)(ii) further requires the Attorney General, upon a credible report of actual or likely violations where state and local officials have not adequately communicated prohibitions or taken corrective steps, to publicly convey—via written, electronic, or telephonic means—the unlawfulness of the conduct and available state and local resources to prevent or address it.

This section expands the bases for criminal liability under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) (52 U.S.C. §20511(2)) to include knowingly and willfully depriving or defrauding residents of a state of a fair and impartially conducted election process by processing or scanning ballots, or tabulating, canvassing, or certifying voting results. (Violators are subject to fines under title 18, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, as under current law.)