Deceptive Practices
In the last several election cycles, “deceptive practices” have been perpetrated in order to suppress voting and skew election results. Usually targeted at minorities and in minority neighborhoods, deceptive practices are the intentional dissemination of false or misleading information about the voting process with the intent to prevent an eligible voter from casting a ballot. It is an insidious form of vote suppression that often goes unaddressed by authorities and the perpetrators are virtually never caught.
Historically, deceptive practices have taken the form of flyers distributed in a particular neighborhood (such as flyers stating that Republicans vote on Tuesday and Democrats vote on Wednesday); more recently, with the advent of new technology “robocalls” have been employed to spread misinformation. Now, the fear is deceptive practices 2.0: false information disseminated via the Internet, email and other new media.
The Law
There is no clear federal law presently that contains criminal penalties against deceptive praces. Even in a case where a person knowingly spreads false information about voting, and regardless of how many voters are deceived, the current federal law may not subject that person to criminal prosecution or civil injunction.
Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia has laws involving voting rights and the administration of elections. Most states prohibit interference with the election process in some manner, but state statutes vary significantly in scope and application. For example, some state laws focus on interference with the physical act of voting by prohibiting “electioneering” within a certain proximity of the polling place. Others address manipulation of or tampering with ballots, voting machines, or registration logs. Still others outlaw behavior meant to harass, intimidate, or bribe voters. While these categories of laws are critical to ensuring the fair and effective administration of elections, some states have supplemented them with laws generally applicable to interference with the election process or dissemination of false information about voting procedures, candidates, or issues in the election. States that have these more general laws are better equipped to curtail deceptive practices, online or otherwise, in the voting process.
Common Cause strongly supports federal legislation outlawing deceptive practices.
Resources
For more information on how deceptive practices have moved online, see our research report.
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