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Committee advances bill criminalizing false post‑election audits
Summary
House Bill 84, which explicitly makes submitting a false post-election audit report to the secretary of state an offense under the election code, was advanced by the committee after the secretary of state's office explained the change aims to align the offense with Title 22 election statutes.
The Corporations Committee reported out House Bill 84 after hearing an explanation from the secretary of state's office on how the measure would treat false post-election audit submissions under the election code.
Joe Rubino, policy director and general counsel for the secretary of state's office, said HB84 seeks to "enumerat[e] that submitting a false post election ballot audit document" is covered specifically under Title 22 and the election code. Rubino noted that similar conduct is already a felony under Title 6 (making or using a knowingly false writing) but said the bill places the offense clearly within Title 22 to create an election-code nexus and a direct referral path to prosecutorial authorities.
Rubino told the committee the bill grew from the management audit examining the Weston County post-election audit submitted following the 2024 general election. Committee members asked about penalty differences between Title 6 and Title 22 and about the process for referrals to the attorney general or other prosecutorial authorities; Rubino said Title 22 more directly delineates referral authority for election-code violations.
No public testimony was offered in-person or online on HB84. The committee moved and seconded the bill and took a roll-call vote; the clerk reported nine affirmative votes and the measure was advanced out of committee.
