Less than three weeks before the first voters cast ballots for the 2012 elections, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) have introduced their bill to create tough new criminal and civil penalties for those who create and distribute false and deceptive voting information and campaign literature. Respecting provisions of the First Amendment, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011 is narrowly tailored to apply to only a small category of false communications that occur during the last 90 days before an election, such as literature listing the wrong date or time for the election, giving inaccurate information about voter eligibility, or promoting false endorsements of candidates.
“Nearly fifty years after Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, we are still fighting to ensure that every American’s vote counts,” said Senator Cardin. “The tactics we saw in Maryland and across America in recent elections are not new. We have a moral obligation to stop these reprehensible activities that are aimed at keeping minorities from exercising their inalienable right to vote. All Americans deserve the right to choose a candidate based on relevant issues and the quality of the candidates, not based on underhanded efforts designed to undermine the integrity of our electoral process.”
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy,” said Senator Schumer. “We must do everything in our power to ensure that this fundamental, constitutional right is not corrupted for partisan gain. Efforts to mislead and confuse eligible voters by distributing false and deceptive voting information and campaign literature is part of what seems to be a la
