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Judiciary Committee reviews H.541 to criminalize interference with voters and election officials
Summary
On Jan. 14 the Judiciary Committee heard H.541, a bill proposing a new state crime and civil enforcement powers to protect voters and election workers from intimidation, threats and other interference, with proposed penalties up to 2 years in jail and $2,000 fines and a grant of investigatory powers to the attorney general and state's attorneys.
The Judiciary Committee took up H.541 on Jan. 14, a bill that would make it a state offense to intimidate, coerce or otherwise interfere with a person’s right to vote or with the preparation and operation of an election. Legislative counsel Tim Devlin told the committee the bill is intended to fill gaps left by federal law and existing Vermont statutes by reaching third-party conduct beyond conduct limited to polling places.
Devlin said the bill has three primary parts: (1) amendments to an existing statute concerning showing ballots and related conduct; (2) a new section creating an interference offense aimed at conduct that intimidates, threatens, coerces or attempts to intimidate voters or election officials for the purpose of disrupting voting or election operations; and (3) a group of civil…
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