H.R. 4894

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4894 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4894

To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 5, 2025

Ms. McClellan (for herself, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Amo, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carter 
of Louisiana, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Fields, Mr. 
Figures, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. 
Kelly of Illinois, Mrs. McBath, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Mfume, Mr. 
Thompson of Mississippi, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Williams of Georgia, 
Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Simon, 
Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Pettersen, Mr. 
Huffman, Mr. Carson, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
Thanedar, and Mr. Lynch) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Deceptive Practices and Voter 
Intimidation Prevention Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The right to vote by casting a ballot for one's 
preferred candidate is a fundamental right accorded to United 
States citizens by the Constitution, and the unimpeded exercise 
of this right is essential to the functioning of our democracy.
(2) Historically, certain citizens, especially racial, 
ethnic, and language minorities, were prevented from voting 
because of significant barriers such as literacy tests, poll 
taxes, and property ownership requirements.
(3) Some of these barriers were removed by the 15th, 19th, 
and 24th Amendments to the Constitution.
(4) Despite the elimination of some of these barriers to 
the polls, the integrity of today's elections is threatened by 
newer tactics aimed at suppressing voter turnout. These tactics 
include ``deceptive practices'', which involve the 
dissemination of false or misleading information intended to 
prevent voters from casting their ballots, prevent voters from 
voting for the candidate of their choice, intimidate the 
electorate, and undermine the integrity of the electoral 
process.
(5) Furthermore, since the decision in Shelby County v. 
Holder in which the Supreme Court struck down the coverage 
formula used by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to determine 
which States with a history of racial discrimination must 
affirmatively receive government permission before changing 
local voting laws, there have been Federal court decisions 
finding or affirming that States or localities intentionally 
discriminated against African Americans and other voters of 
color.
(6) Denials of the right to vote, and deceptive practices 
designed to prevent members of racial, ethnic, and language 
minorities from exercising that right, are an outgrowth of 
discriminatory history, including slavery. Measures to combat 
denials of that right are a legitimate exercise of 
congressional power under article I, section 4 and article II, 
section 1 of, and the 14th and 15th Amendments to, the United 
States Constitution.
(7) For the last few decades, there have been a number of 
instances of deceptive or intimidating practices aimed towards 
suppressing minority access to the voting booth that 
demonstrates the need for strengthened protections.
(8) In addition, in at least one instance in 1990, 
thousands of voters reportedly received postcards providing 
false information about voter eligibility and warnings about 
criminal penalties for voter fraud. Most of the voters who 
received the postcards were African American.
(9) During the 2004 elections, Native American voters in 
South Dakota reported being required to provide photographic 
identification in order to vote, despite the fact that neither 
State nor Federal law required such identification.
(10) In the 2006 midterm elections, thousands of Latino 
voters received mailings warning them in Spanish that voting in 
a Federal election as an immigrant could result in 
incarceration--despite the fact that any immigrant who is a 
naturalized citizen of the United States has the same right to 
vote as any other citizen.
(11) In 2008, fliers were distributed in predominantly 
African American neighborhoods falsely warning that people with 
outstanding warrants or unpaid parking tickets could be 
arrested if they showed up at the polls on election day. In the 
same year, there were reports of people receiving text messages 
on election day asking them to wait until the following day to 
vote.
(12) In 2012, there were reports of voters receiving calls 
falsely informing them that they could vote via telephone.
(13) On January 6, 2017, the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence published a report titled ``Assessing 
Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections'', 
noting that ``Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an 
influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. Presidential 
election.''. Moscow's influence campaign followed a Russian 
messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence operation--
such as cyber activity--with overt efforts by Russian 
Government agencies, State-funded media, third-party 
intermediaries, and paid social media users or ``trolls''. 
These influence operations included messaging that targeted 
African American voters with misinformation.
(14) On April 18, 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller 
released a report titled ``Report on the Investigation into 
Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election'', which 
concluded that ``the Russian government interfered in the 2016 
presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.''. 
The report details that Russia interfered in the 2016 
Presidential election principally through two operations: 
first, through a Russian government sponsored social media 
influence campaign, and second, by Russian intelligence 
``computer-intrusion'' operations against those associated with 
both Presidential campaigns. The Mueller Report details how 
Russian agents intentionally targeted Black social justice 
groups and created fake accounts purporting to represent Black 
social justice groups in order to spread disinformation and sow 
division.
(15) Social media makes the mass dissemination of 
misleading information easy and allows perpetrators to target 
particular audiences with precision. One analysis documented 
hundreds of messages on Facebook and Twitter designed to 
discourage or prevent people from voting in the 2018 election. 
In 2016, these false statements were extremely prevalent with 
both domestic and foreign actors. Russian operatives engaged in 
a concerted disinformation and propaganda campaign over the 
internet that aimed, in part, to suppress voter turnout, 
especially among Black voters. These efforts by the Russian 
Government continued and became more aggressive in the 2020 
election cycle.
(16) In 2023, Douglass Mackey was convicted for his role in 
the conspiracy to interfere with potential voters' right to 
vote in the 2016 Presidential election, in violation of section 
241 of title 18, United States Code. The Department of Justice 
alleged that Mackey conspired with other influential Twitter 
users and with members of private online groups to use social 
media platforms, including Twitter, to disseminate fraudulent 
messages that encouraged supporters of Presidential candidate 
Hillary Clinton to ``vote'' via text message or social media. 
However, in 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second 
Circuit reversed Mackey's conviction on the ground that 
prosecutors had not proven that his deceptive conduct was part 
of a conspiracy. This ruling underscores the need for Congress 
to update the law to more effectively protect against voter 
suppression through deceptive practices, regardless of whether 
it is accomplished through a conspiracy or by one bad actor 
alone.
(17) During the 2020 Presidential election, Texas voters 
received robocalls stating that the Democratic primary would be 
taking place after its actual date. In the same year, 
communities of color in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, 
and New York were targeted by robocalls sharing false 
information about how their data would be shared if they voted 
by mail. Widespread disinformation was targeted at Latino 
communities in Florida and other States, particularly through 
social media.
(18) During the 2020 Presidential election, voters in some 
precincts faced voter intimidation during early voting and on 
election day. The Election Protection hotline received nearly 
32,000 calls on election day. Reports from the Voting Rights 
Defender and Prepared to Vote project teams and the NAACP Legal 
Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., showed that minority voters 
were disproportionately impacted by voter intimidation. 
Incidents included 3,000,000 robocalls telling people to stay 
home on election day and armed people at polling sites on 
election day in Florida, North Carolina, and Louisiana. 
Additionally, election officials, volunteers, and electors 
faced unprecedented intimidation including doxxing, death 
threats, and other intimidating communication.
(19) Those responsible for these and similar efforts should 
be held accountable, and civil and criminal penalties should be 
available to punish anyone who seeks to keep voters away from 
the polls by providing false information.
(20) Moreover, the Federal Government should help correct 
such false information in order to assist voters in exercising 
their right to vote without confusion and to preserve the 
integrity of the electoral process.
(21) The Federal Government has a compelling interest in 
``protecting voters from confusion and undue influence'' and in 
``preserving the integrity of its election process''. Burson v. 
Freeman, 504 U.S. 191, 199 (1992).
(22) The First Amendment does not preclude the regulation 
of some intentionally false speech, even if it is political in 
nature. As the Supreme Court of the United States has 
recognized, ``[t]hat speech is used as a tool for political 
ends does not automatically bring it under the protective 
mantle of the Constitution. For the use of the known lie as a 
tool is at once at odds with the premises of democratic 
government and with the orderly manner in which economic, 
social, or political change is to be effected. . . . Hence the 
knowingly false statement and the false statement made with 
reckless disregard of the truth, do not enjoy constitutional 
protection.''. Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 75 (1964).

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING FEDERAL 
ELECTIONS.

(a) Prohibition.--Subsection (b) of section 2004 of the Revised 
Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``No person'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--No person''; and
(2) by inserting at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(2) Prohibition on deceptive communications regarding 
federal elections.--
``(A) False statements.--No person, whether acting 
under color of law or otherwise, shall, within 60 days 
before an election described in paragraph (4), by any 
means, including by means of written, electronic, or 
telephonic communications, communicate or cause to be 
communicated information described in subparagraph (C), 
or produce information described in subparagraph (C) 
with the intent that such information be communicated, 
if such person--
``(i) knows such information to be 
materially false; and
``(ii) has the intent to impede or prevent 
another person from exercising the right to 
vote in an election described in paragraph (4).
``(B) Use of generative artificial intelligence.--
No person, whether acting under color of law or 
otherwise, shall use an artificial intelligence system, 
including a generative artificial intelligence system, 
to produce information described in subparagraph (C) 
within 60 days before an election described in 
paragraph (4) if such person--
``(i) has the intent to use the system to 
produce false information; and
``(ii) has the intent to use the system to 
impede or prevent another person from 
exercising the right to vote in an election 
described in paragraph (4).
``(C) Information described.--Information is 
described in this subparagraph if such information is 
regarding--
``(i) the time, place, or manner of holding 
any election described in paragraph (4); or
``(ii) the qualifications for or 
restrictions on voter eligibility for any such 
election, including--
``(I) any criminal, civil, or other 
legal penalties associated with voting 
in any such election; or
``(II) information regarding a 
voter's registration status or 
eligibility.
``(3) Hindering, interfering with, or preventing voting or 
registering to vote.--No person, whether acting under color of 
law or otherwise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, 
or prevent another person from voting, registering to vote, or 
aiding another person to vote or register to vote in an 
election described in paragraph (4), including by operating a 
polling place or ballot box that falsely purports to be an 
official location established for such an election by a unit of 
government.
``(4) Election described.--An election described in this 
paragraph is any general, primary, runoff, or special election 
held solely or in part for the purpose of nominating or 
electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice 
President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member 
of the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Commissioner 
from a Territory or possession.
``(5) Definitions.--
``(A) Artificial intelligence.--The term 
`artificial intelligence' has the meaning given the 
term in section 5002 of the National Artificial 
Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401).
``(B) Generative artificial intelligence.--The term 
`generative artificial intelligence' means the class of 
artificial intelligence models that emulate the 
structure and characteristics of input data in order to 
generate derived synthetic content. This can include 
images, videos, audio, text, and other digital 
content.''.
(b) Private Right of Action.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (c) of section 2004 of the 
Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``Whenever any person'' and 
inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Whenever any person''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
``(2) Civil action.--Any person aggrieved by a violation of 
this section may institute a civil action for preventive 
relief, including an application in a United States district 
court for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining 
order, or other order. In any such action, the court, in its 
discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable 
attorney's fee as part of the costs.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--Section 2004 of the Revised 
Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101) is amended--
(A) in subsection (e), by striking ``subsection 
(c)'' and inserting ``subsection (c)(1)''; and
(B) in subsection (g), by striking ``subsection 
(c)'' and inserting ``subsection (c)(1)''.
(c) Criminal Penalties.--
(1) Deceptive acts.--Section 594 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
(A) by striking ``Whoever intimidates'' and 
inserting ``(a) In General.--Whoever intimidates'';
(B) by striking ``at any election'' and inserting 
``at any general, primary, runoff, or special 
election''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subsections:
``(b) Deceptive Acts.--
``(1) False statements regarding federal elections.--
``(A) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any 
person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, 
within 60 days before an election described in 
subsection (e), by any means, including by means of 
written, electronic, or telephonic communications, to 
communicate or cause to be communicated information 
described in subparagraph (B), or produce information 
described in subparagraph (B) with the intent that such 
information be communicated, if such person--
``(i) knows such information to be 
materially false; and
``(ii) has the intent to impede or prevent 
another person from exercising the right to 
vote in an election described in subsection 
(f).
``(B) Information described.--Information is 
described in this subparagraph if such information is 
regarding--
``(i) the time or place of holding any 
election described in subsection (e); or
``(ii) the qualifications for or 
restrictions on voter eligibility for any such 
election, including--
``(I) any criminal, civil, or other 
legal penalties associated with voting 
in any such election; or
``(II) information regarding a 
voter's registration status or 
eligibility.
``(2) Penalty.--Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall 
be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, 
or both.
``(c) Hindering, Interfering With, or Preventing Voting or 
Registering To Vote.--
``(1) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any person, 
whether acting under color of law or otherwise, to corruptly 
hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from voting, 
registering to vote, or aiding another person to vote or 
register to vote in an election described in subsection (e).
``(2) Penalty.--Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall 
be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, 
or both.
``(d) Election Described.--An election described in this subsection 
is any general, primary, runoff, or special election held solely or in 
part for the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate for the 
office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Senator, 
Member of the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Resident 
Commissioner to Congress.''.
(2) Sentencing guidelines.--
(A) Review and amendment.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the United 
States Sentencing Commission, pursuant to its authority 
under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, and 
in accordance with this section, shall review and, if 
appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines 
and policy statements applicable to persons convicted 
of any offense under section 594 of title 18, United 
States Code, as amended by this section.
(B) Authorization.--The United States Sentencing 
Commission may amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines 
in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 
21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 
note) as though the authority under that section had 
not expired.
(3) Payments for refraining from voting.--Subsection (c) of 
section 11 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) 
is amended by striking ``either for registration to vote or for 
voting'' and inserting ``for registration to vote, for voting, 
or for not voting''.

SEC. 4. CORRECTIVE ACTION.

(a) Corrective Action.--
(1) In general.--If the Attorney General receives a 
credible report that materially false information has been or 
is being communicated in violation of section 2004(b)(2) of the 
Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)(2)), as added by section 
3(a), and if the Attorney General determines that State and 
local election officials have not taken adequate steps to 
promptly communicate accurate information to correct the 
materially false information, the Attorney General shall, 
pursuant to the written procedures and standards under 
subsection (b), communicate to the public, by any means, 
including by means of written, electronic, or telephonic 
communications, accurate information designed to correct the 
materially false information.
(2) Communication of corrective information.--Any 
information communicated by the Attorney General under 
paragraph (1)--
(A) shall--
(i) be accurate and objective;
(ii) consist of only the information 
necessary to correct the materially false 
information that has been or is being 
communicated; and
(iii) to the extent practicable, be by a 
means that the Attorney General determines will 
reach the persons to whom the materially false 
information has been or is being communicated; 
and
(B) shall not be designed to favor or disfavor any 
particular candidate, organization, or political party.
(b) Written Procedures and Standards for Taking Corrective 
Action.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall publish 
written procedures and standards for determining when and how 
corrective action will be taken under this section.
(2) Inclusion of appropriate deadlines.--The procedures and 
standards under paragraph (1) shall include appropriate 
deadlines, based in part on the number of days remaining before 
the upcoming election.
(3) Consultation.--In developing the procedures and 
standards under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall 
consult with the Election Assistance Commission, State and 
local election officials, civil rights organizations, voting 
rights groups, voter protection groups, and other interested 
community organizations.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out this subtitle.

SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after each general 
election for Federal office, the Attorney General shall submit to 
Congress a report compiling all allegations received by the Attorney 
General of deceptive practices described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
section 2004(b) of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added 
by section 3(a), relating to the general election for Federal office 
and any primary, runoff, or a special election for Federal office held 
in the 2 years preceding the general election.
(b) Contents.--
(1) In general.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) 
shall include--
(A) a description of each allegation of a deceptive 
practice described in subsection (a), including the 
geographic location, racial and ethnic composition, and 
language minority-group membership of the persons 
toward whom the alleged deceptive practice was 
directed;
(B) the status of the investigation of each 
allegation described in subparagraph (A);
(C) a description of each corrective action taken 
by the Attorney General under section 4(a) in response 
to an allegation described in subparagraph (A);
(D) a description of each referral of an allegation 
described in subparagraph (A) to other Federal, State, 
or local agencies;
(E) to the extent information is available, a 
description of any civil action instituted under 
section 2004(c)(2) of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 
10101(c)(2)), as added by section 3(b), in connection 
with an allegation described in subparagraph (A); and
(F) a description of any criminal prosecution 
instituted under subsection (b) or (c) of section 594 
of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 
3(c), in connection with the receipt of an allegation 
described in subparagraph (A) by the Attorney General.
(2) Exclusion of certain information.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall not 
include in a report submitted under subsection (a) any 
information protected from disclosure by rule 6(e) of 
the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or any Federal 
criminal statute.
(B) Exclusion of certain other information.--The 
Attorney General may determine that the following 
information shall not be included in a report submitted 
under subsection (a):
(i) Any information that is privileged.
(ii) Any information concerning an ongoing 
investigation.
(iii) Any information concerning a criminal 
or civil proceeding conducted under seal.
(iv) Any other nonpublic information that 
the Attorney General determines the disclosure 
of which could reasonably be expected to 
infringe on the rights of any individual or 
adversely affect the integrity of a pending or 
future criminal investigation.
(c) Report Made Public.--On the date that the Attorney General 
submits the report under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall 
also make the report publicly available through the internet and other 
appropriate means.

SEC. 6. PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS.

Subsection (c)(2) of section 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 
U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by section 3(b), is amended--
(1) by striking ``Any person'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Any person''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(B) Intimidation, etc.--
``(i) In general.--A person aggrieved by a 
violation of subsection (b)(1) shall include, 
without limitation, an officer responsible for 
maintaining order and preventing intimidation, 
threats, or coercion in or around a location at 
which voters may cast their votes.
``(ii) Corrective action.--If the Attorney 
General receives a credible report that conduct 
that violates or would be reasonably likely to 
violate subsection (b)(1) has occurred or is 
likely to occur, and if the Attorney General 
determines that State and local officials have 
not taken adequate steps to promptly 
communicate that such conduct would violate 
subsection (b)(1) or applicable State or local 
laws, the Attorney General shall communicate to 
the public, by any means, including by means of 
written, electronic, or telephonic 
communications, accurate information designed 
to convey the unlawfulness of proscribed 
conduct under subsection (b)(1) and the 
responsibilities of and resources available to 
State and local officials to prevent or correct 
such violations.''.

SEC. 7. MAKING INTIMIDATION OF TABULATION, CANVASS, AND CERTIFICATION 
EFFORTS A CRIME.

Section 12(1) of the National Voter Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 
20511) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) processing or scanning ballots, or 
tabulating, canvassing, or certifying voting results; 
or''.
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