II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1834 

To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. JONES, 

Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Deceptive Practices 

5 and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The right to vote by casting a ballot for 

9 one’s preferred candidate is a fundamental right ac10 corded to United States citizens by the Constitution, 


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1 and the unimpeded exercise of this right is essential 

2 to the functioning of our democracy. 

3 (2) Historically, certain citizens, especially ra4 cial, ethnic, and language minorities, were prevented 

5 from voting because of significant barriers such as 

6 literacy tests, poll taxes, and property ownership re7 quirements. 

8 (3) Some of these barriers were removed by the 

9 15th, 19th, and 24th Amendments to the Constitu10 tion. 

11 (4) Despite the elimination of some of these 

12 barriers to the polls, the integrity of today’s elec13 tions is threatened by newer tactics aimed at sup14 pressing voter turnout. These tactics include ‘‘decep15 tive practices,’’ which involve the dissemination of 

16 false or misleading information intended to prevent 

17 voters from casting their ballots, prevent voters from 

18 voting for the candidate of their choice, intimidate 

19 the electorate, and undermine the integrity of the 

20 electoral process. 

21 (5) Furthermore, since the decision in Shelby 

22 County v. Holder in which the Supreme Court 

23 struck down the coverage formula used by the Vot24 ing Rights Act of 1965 to determine which States 

25 with a history of racial discrimination must affirmaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:35 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1834.IS S1834

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1 tively receive government permission before changing 

2 local voting laws, there have been Federal court de3 cisions finding or affirming that States or localities 

4 intentionally discriminated against African Ameri5 cans and other voters of color. 

6 (6) Denials of the right to vote, and deceptive 

7 practices designed to prevent members of racial, eth8 nic, and language minorities from exercising that 

9 right, are an outgrowth of discriminatory history, in10 cluding slavery. Measures to combat denials of that 

11 right are a legitimate exercise of congressional power 

12 under article I, section 4 and article II, section 1 of, 

13 and the 14th and 15th Amendments to, the United 

14 States Constitution. 

15 (7) For the last few decades, there have been 

16 a number of instances of deceptive or intimidating 

17 practices aimed towards suppressing minority access 

18 to the voting booth that demonstrates the need for 

19 strengthened protections. 

20 (8) In addition, in at least one instance in 

21 1990, thousands of voters reportedly received post22 cards providing false information about voter eligi23 bility and warnings about criminal penalties for 

24 voter fraud. Most of the voters who received the 

25 postcards were African-American. 


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1 (9) During the 2004 elections, Native American 

2 voters in South Dakota reported being required to 

3 provide photographic identification in order to vote, 

4 despite the fact that neither State nor Federal law 

5 required such identification. 

6 (10) In the 2006 midterm elections, thousands 

7 of Latino voters received mailings warning them in 

8 Spanish that voting in a Federal election as an im9 migrant could result in incarceration—despite the 

10 fact that any immigrant who is a naturalized citizen 

11 of the United States has the same right to vote as 

12 any other citizen. 

13 (11) In 2008, fliers were distributed in pre14 dominantly African-American neighborhoods falsely 

15 warning that people with outstanding warrants or 

16 unpaid parking tickets could be arrested if they 

17 showed up at the polls on Election Day. In the same 

18 year, there were reports of people receiving text mes19 sages on Election Day asking them to wait until the 

20 following day to vote. 

21 (12) In 2012, there were reports of voters re22 ceiving calls falsely informing them that they could 

23 vote via telephone. 

24 (13) On January 6, 2017, the Office of the Di25 rector of National Intelligence published a report tiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:35 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1834.IS S1834

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1 tled ‘‘Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in 

2 Recent U.S. Elections’’, noting that ‘‘Russian Presi3 dent Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign 

4 in 2016 aimed at the U.S. Presidential election.’’. 

5 Moscow’s influence campaign followed a Russian 

6 messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence 

7 operation—such as cyber activity—with overt efforts 

8 by Russian Government agencies, State-funded 

9 media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social 

10 media users or ‘‘trolls.’’ These influence operations 

11 included messaging that targeted African-American 

12 voters with misinformation. 

13 (14) On April 18, 2019, Special Counsel Robert 

14 Mueller released a report titled ‘‘Report on the In15 vestigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 

16 Presidential Election’’, which concluded that ‘‘the 

17 Russian government interfered in the 2016 presi18 dential election in sweeping and systematic fash19 ion.’’. The report details that Russia interfered in 

20 the 2016 presidential election principally through 

21 two operations: first, through a Russian government 

22 sponsored social media influence campaign, and sec23 ond, by Russian intelligence ‘‘computer-intrusion’’ 

24 operations against those associated with both presi25 dential campaigns. The Mueller Report details how 


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1 Russian agents intentionally targeted black social 

2 justice groups and created fake accounts purporting 

3 to represent black social justice groups in order to 

4 spread disinformation and sow division. 

5 (15) Those responsible for these and similar ef6 forts should be held accountable, and civil and crimi7 nal penalties should be available to punish anyone 

8 who seeks to keep voters away from the polls by pro9 viding false information. 

10 (16) Moreover, the Federal Government should 

11 help correct such false information in order to assist 

12 voters in exercising their right to vote without confu13 sion and to preserve the integrity of the electoral 

14 process. 

15 (17) The Federal Government has a compelling 

16 interest in ‘‘protecting voters from confusion and 

17 undue influence’’ and in ‘‘preserving the integrity of 

18 its election process’’. Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 

19 191, 199 (1992). 

20 (18) The First Amendment does not preclude 

21 the regulation of some intentionally false speech, 

22 even if it is political in nature. As the Supreme 

23 Court of the United States has recognized, ‘‘[t]hat 

24 speech is used as a tool for political ends does not 

25 automatically bring it under the protective mantle of 


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1 the Constitution. For the use of the known lie as a 

2 tool is at once at odds with the premises of demo3 cratic government and with the orderly manner in 

4 which economic, social, or political change is to be 

5 effected. . . . Hence the knowingly false statement 

6 and the false statement made with reckless disregard 

7 of the truth, do not enjoy constitutional protection.’’. 

8 Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 75 (1964). 

9 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FED10 ERAL ELECTIONS. 

11 (a) PROHIBITION.—Subsection (b) of section 2004 of 

12 the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 

16 (2) by inserting at the end the following new 

17 paragraphs: 

18 ‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL

19 ELECTIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 

21 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 

22 within 60 days before an election described in 

23 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 

24 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com25 munications, communicate or cause to be comVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:35 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1834.IS S1834

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1 municated information described in subpara2 graph (B), or produce information described in 

3 subparagraph (B) with the intent that such in4 formation be communicated, if such person— 

5 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma6 terially false; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre8 vent another person from exercising the 

9 right to vote in an election described in 

10 paragraph (5). 

11 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor12 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 

13 information is regarding— 

14 ‘‘(i) the time, place, or manner of 

15 holding any election described in para16 graph (5); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric18 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec19 tion, including— 

20 ‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso21 ciated with voting in any such elec22 tion; or 

23 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 

24 voter’s registration status or eligi25 bility. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC

2 ENDORSEMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 

4 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 

5 within 60 days before an election described in 

6 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 

7 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com8 munications, communicate, or cause to be com9 municated, a materially false statement about 

10 an endorsement, if such person— 

11 ‘‘(i) knows such statement to be false; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre14 vent another person from exercising the 

15 right to vote in an election described in 

16 paragraph (5). 

17 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF ‘MATERIALLY

18 FALSE’.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 

19 statement about an endorsement is ‘materially 

20 false’ if, with respect to an upcoming election 

21 described in paragraph (5)— 

22 ‘‘(i) the statement states that a spe23 cifically named person, political party, or 

24 organization has endorsed the election of a 


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1 specific candidate for a Federal office de2 scribed in such paragraph; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) such person, political party, or 

4 organization has not endorsed the election 

5 of such candidate. 

6 ‘‘(4) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE7 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.—No 

8 person, whether acting under color of law or other9 wise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, or 

10 prevent another person from voting, registering to 

11 vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 

12 vote in an election described in paragraph (5). 

13 ‘‘(5) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election de14 scribed in this paragraph is any general, primary, 

15 run-off, or special election held solely or in part for 

16 the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate 

17 for the office of President, Vice President, presi18 dential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of 

19 the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Com20 missioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 

21 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 

23 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person’’ 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Whenever any person’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2) Any person aggrieved by a violation of 

7 subsection (b)(2), (b)(3), or (b)(4) may institute a 

8 civil action for preventive relief, including an appli9 cation in a United States district court for a perma10 nent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or 

11 other order. In any such action, the court, in its dis12 cretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable 

13 attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (A) Subsection (e) of section 2004 of the 

16 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(e)) is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in18 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 

19 (B) Subsection (g) of section 2004 of the 

20 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(g)) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 

23 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

24 (1) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Section 594 of title 18, 

25 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) INTIMIDATION.—Whoever’’; 

4 (B) in subsection (a), as inserted by sub5 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘at any election’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘at any general, primary, run-off, 

7 or special election’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

9 subsections: 

10 ‘‘(b) DECEPTIVE ACTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL

12 ELECTIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 

14 for any person, whether acting under color of 

15 law or otherwise, within 60 days before an elec16 tion described in subsection (e), by any means, 

17 including by means of written, electronic, or tel18 ephonic communications, to communicate or 

19 cause to be communicated information de20 scribed in subparagraph (B), or produce infor21 mation described in subparagraph (B) with the 

22 intent that such information be communicated, 

23 if such person— 

24 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma25 terially false; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to mislead voters, 

2 or the intent to impede or prevent another 

3 person from exercising the right to vote in 

4 an election described in subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor6 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 

7 information is regarding— 

8 ‘‘(i) the time or place of holding any 

9 election described in subsection (e); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric11 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec12 tion, including— 

13 ‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso14 ciated with voting in any such elec15 tion; or 

16 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 

17 voter’s registration status or eligi18 bility. 

19 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para20 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 

21 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

22 ‘‘(c) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE23 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for 

25 any person, whether acting under color of law or 


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1 otherwise, to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or pre2 vent another person from voting, registering to vote, 

3 or aiding another person to vote or register to vote 

4 in an election described in subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para6 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 

7 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

8 ‘‘(d) ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 

9 any offense described in subsection (a), (b)(1), or (c)(1) 

10 shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed 

11 for the offense that the person attempted to commit. 

12 ‘‘(e) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election described 

13 in this subsection is any general, primary, run-off, or spe14 cial election held solely or in part for the purpose of nomi15 nating or electing a candidate for the office of President, 

16 Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, 

17 Member of the House of Representatives, or Delegate or 

18 Commissioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 

19 (2) MODIFICATION OF PENALTY FOR VOTER IN20 TIMIDATION.—Section 594(a) of title 18, United 

21 States Code, as amended by paragraph (1), is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘fined under this title or im23 prisoned not more than one year’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned for not 

25 more than 5 years’’. 


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1 (3) SENTENCING GUIDELINES.— 

2 (A) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—Not later 

3 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

4 this Act, the United States Sentencing Commis5 sion, pursuant to its authority under section 

6 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in ac7 cordance with this section, shall review and, if 

8 appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing 

9 guidelines and policy statements applicable to 

10 persons convicted of any offense under section 

11 594 of title 18, United States Code, as amend12 ed by this section. 

13 (B) AUTHORIZATION.—The United States 

14 Sentencing Commission may amend the Federal 

15 Sentencing Guidelines in accordance with the 

16 procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sen17 tencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) as 

18 though the authority under that section had not 

19 expired. 

20 (4) PAYMENTS FOR REFRAINING FROM VOT21 ING.—Subsection (c) of section 11 of the Voting 

22 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘either for registration to vote or for vot24 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘for registration to vote, for vot25 ing, or for not voting’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. CORRECTIVE ACTION. 

2 (a) CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General re4 ceives a credible report that materially false informa5 tion has been or is being communicated in violation 

6 of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2004(b) of the 

7 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by 

8 section 3(a), and if the Attorney General determines 

9 that State and local election officials have not taken 

10 adequate steps to promptly communicate accurate 

11 information to correct the materially false informa12 tion, the Attorney General shall, pursuant to the 

13 written procedures and standards under subsection 

14 (b), communicate to the public, by any means, in15 cluding by means of written, electronic, or telephonic 

16 communications, accurate information designed to 

17 correct the materially false information. 

18 (2) COMMUNICATION OF CORRECTIVE INFORMA19 TION.—Any information communicated by the Attor20 ney General under paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) shall— 

22 (i) be accurate and objective; 

23 (ii) consist of only the information 

24 necessary to correct the materially false in25 formation that has been or is being com26 municated; and 


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1 (iii) to the extent practicable, be by a 

2 means that the Attorney General deter3 mines will reach the persons to whom the 

4 materially false information has been or is 

5 being communicated; and 

6 (B) shall not be designed to favor or dis7 favor any particular candidate, organization, or 

8 political party. 

9 (b) WRITTEN PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS FOR

10 TAKING CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

13 General shall publish written procedures and stand14 ards for determining when and how corrective action 

15 will be taken under this section. 

16 (2) INCLUSION OF APPROPRIATE DEADLINES.— 

17 The procedures and standards under paragraph (1) 

18 shall include appropriate deadlines, based in part on 

19 the number of days remaining before the upcoming 

20 election. 

21 (3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the proce22 dures and standards under paragraph (1), the Attor23 ney General shall consult with the Election Assist24 ance Commission, State and local election officials, 

25 civil rights organizations, voting rights groups, voter 


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1 protection groups, and other interested community 

2 organizations. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

5 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

6 SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 each general election for Federal office, the Attorney Gen9 eral shall submit to Congress a report compiling all allega10 tions received by the Attorney General of deceptive prac11 tices described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 

12 2004(b) of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as 

13 added by section 3(a), relating to the general election for 

14 Federal office and any primary, run-off, or a special elec15 tion for Federal office held in the 2 years preceding the 

16 general election. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each report submitted 

19 under subsection (a) shall include— 

20 (A) a description of each allegation of a 

21 deceptive practice described in subsection (a), 

22 including the geographic location, racial and 

23 ethnic composition, and language minority24 group membership of the persons toward whom 

25 the alleged deceptive practice was directed; 


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1 (B) the status of the investigation of each 

2 allegation described in subparagraph (A); 

3 (C) a description of each corrective action 

4 taken by the Attorney General under section 

5 4(a) in response to an allegation described in 

6 subparagraph (A); 

7 (D) a description of each referral of an al8 legation described in subparagraph (A) to other 

9 Federal, State, or local agencies; 

10 (E) to the extent information is available, 

11 a description of any civil action instituted under 

12 section 2004(c)(2) of the Revised Statutes (52 

13 U.S.C. 10101(c)(2)), as added by section 3(b), 

14 in connection with an allegation described in 

15 subparagraph (A); and 

16 (F) a description of any criminal prosecu17 tion instituted under section 594 of title 18, 

18 United States Code, as amended by section 

19 3(c), in connection with the receipt of an allega20 tion described in subparagraph (A) by the At21 torney General. 

22 (2) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

24 shall not include in a report submitted under 

25 subsection (a) any information protected from 


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1 disclosure by rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of 

2 Criminal Procedure or any Federal criminal 

3 statute. 

4 (B) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN OTHER IN5 FORMATION.—The Attorney General may deter6 mine that the following information shall not be 

7 included in a report submitted under subsection 

8 (a): 

9 (i) Any information that is privileged. 

10 (ii) Any information concerning an 

11 ongoing investigation. 

12 (iii) Any information concerning a 

13 criminal or civil proceeding conducted 

14 under seal. 

15 (iv) Any other nonpublic information 

16 that the Attorney General determines the 

17 disclosure of which could reasonably be ex18 pected to infringe on the rights of any in19 dividual or adversely affect the integrity of 

20 a pending or future criminal investigation. 

21 (c) REPORT MADE PUBLIC.—On the date that the 

22 Attorney General submits the report under subsection (a), 

23 the Attorney General shall also make the report publicly 

24 available through the Internet and other appropriate 

25 means. 


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1 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

2 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

3 by this Act, or the application of a provision or amend4 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon5 stitutional, the remainder of this Act and the amendments 

6 made by this Act, and the application of the provisions 

7 and amendments to any person or circumstance, shall not 

8 be affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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