Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2006
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2006 - Amends the Revised Statutes and federal criminal law to prohibit any person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, from knowingly deceiving any other person regarding: (1) the time, place, or manner of conducting any federal election; (2) the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for any such election; (3) the political party affiliation of any candidate running in any such election; or (4) the sponsor, endorser, or originator of any public communication that promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes a clearly identified candidate in any such election. Creates a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of such prohibition.
Prescribes a criminal penalty for such deceptive acts.
Authorizes any person to report a deceptive act to the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (or a designee).
Requires the AAG to investigate such a report within 48 hours after its receipt and provide correct information to the voters if it is determined that an act of deception occurred.
Requires an immediate investigation if such a report is received within 72 hours before an election. Directs the AAG, in such an instance, to undertake immediately all effective measures necessary to provide correct information to voters affected by the deception.
Directs the Attorney General to study the feasibility of providing such corrective information through public service announcements, the emergency alert system, or other forms of public broadcast.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 16, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 16, 2006: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced it on November 16, 2006, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 16, 2006, 7238 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7238 days ago, on November 16, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers