Intimidation of voters

Intimidation of voters, or voter intimidation, refers to the act of intimidating, threatening, or coercing another person to interfere with their right to vote for the candidate of their choice. As of 2020, voter intimidation was a federal crime punishable by a fine, up to one-year of imprisonment, or both.

Federal law says: "Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner, at any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing such candidate, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."

Federal law provides for civil lawsuits based on voter intimidation. Section 11 of the Voting Rights Act makes it unlawful to “intimidate, threaten, or coerce" another individual at the polls. The Voting Rights Act also makes it illegal to coerce any person while registering to vote or voting.

In addition to federal law prohibiting voter intimidation, each state has its own laws prohibiting voter intimidation and establishing penalties for voter intimidation.

Federal statutes against voter intimidation

A December 2017 report from the Department of Justice said that voter intimidation "normally requires evidence of threats, duress, economic coercion, or some other aggravating factor that tends to improperly induce conduct on the part of the victim."

The Department of Justice listed the following federal statutes against voter intimidation as of 2020:

• The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 "included a series of election crimes, one of which prohibits knowingly and willfully intimidating or coercing prospective voters in registering to vote, or for voting, in any election for federal office."
• The Civil Rights Act of 1968 "makes it illegal to use or threaten to use physical force to intimidate individuals from, among other things, 'voting or qualifying to vote.' It reaches threats to use physical force against a victim because the victim has exercised his or her franchise, or to prevent the victim from doing so."
• In 1939 Congress enacted the Hatch Act. According to the Department of Justice, Section 594 prohibits "the blatant economic coercion used during the 1930s to force federal employees and recipients of federal relief benefits to perform political work and to vote for and contribute to the candidates supported by their supervisors."
• Section 610 of the Hatch Act "prohibits intimidating or coercing a federal employee to induce or discourage 'any political activity' by the employee. Violators are subject to imprisonment for up to three years."
• Section 241 of the Hatch Act "makes it a ten-year felony to 'conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate' any person in the free exercise of any right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States – including the right to vote."

Examples of voter intimidation

Examples of voter intimidation are as follows:

• Violent behavior inside or outside the polling site
• Verbal threats of violence
• Confronting voters while wearing military-style or official-looking uniforms
• Brandishing firearms or the intimidating display of firearms
• Disrupting voting lines or blocking the entrance to the polling place
• Following voters to, from, or within the polling place
• Spreading false information about voter fraud, voting requirements, or related criminal penalties
• Aggressively approaching voters’ vehicles or writing down voters’ license plate numbers
• Harassing voters, aggressively questioning them about their qualifications to vote

See also

• Disenfranchisement
• Voter suppression
• Poll tax
• Literacy as a requirement for voting
• Vote fraud
• Voting Rights Act
• National Voter Registration Act
• Terms and definitions

External links

Suggest a link

• Department of Justice, "Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses"
• Georgetown Law, "Fact Sheet: Protecting Against Voter Intimidation "
• National Association of Secretaries of State, "State Laws for Poll Watchers and Challengers"