Voting by mail is more important than ever during a pandemic.
Voting by mail is incredibly popular in California. Almost 60% of voters are registered as permanent vote-by-mail voters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to vote by mail — rather than going to a crowded polling site — is more important than ever.
Despite the importance of voting by mail, there are many who challenge its validity, arguing that it may lead to fraud or other issues. According to a criminal defense lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, a new California law hopes to address those who spread false information about voting by mail. Under Senate Bill 739, if you spread false or misleading information about this process, you could be charged with a misdemeanor offense.
California law currently makes it a crime to cause to be distributed or distribute literature to a voter that the person knows to include voting information that is incorrect, false or misleading. This crime requires that the person who was charged has actual knowledge and an intent to deceive. For example, if a person working on a political campaign leaves flyers at voters’ houses telling them that election day has been moved to the spring because of the pandemic — knowing that this is false, and with the intention of deceiving voters — they could be charged with a crime.
SB 739 adds “voting by mail” to this prohibition. In other words, if you distribute literature to a voter with information that you know to be false about voting by mail — and you do so with actual knowledge and an intent to deceive — then you could be charged with a misdemeanor. In California, misdemeanor offenses are punishable by up to 1 year in county jail.
Because it is 2020, and social media is a major form of communication, this bill doesn’t just apply to flyers or cards distributed through the mail. Purposefully spreading misleading information about voting by mail in California through tweets, Facebook posts, or other avenues could also lead to prosecution.
However, as a criminal defense lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga, CA can explain, there are a number of defenses to this charge. In particular, the law requires that you know that the information is false — and that you distributed it with an intent to deceive others. If you share a Facebook post that you believe to be true about voting by mail in California, that may be a defense to the charge against you. Similarly, if you tweet out something about vote by mail that is meant to be sarcastic or satirical, then your attorney can use this as a defense to the charges against you, because you did not have an intent to deceive.
The Chambers Law Firm encourages everyone to participate in the electoral process, and to respect the right of others to do the same. If you have been charged with a crime, we can help. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
