Election bribery is a felony. Contact the Milwaukee criminal defense lawyers at Van Severen Law Office for help: (414) 270-0202
While we regularly hear of plenty of drama surrounding the elections, election bribery is not frequently mentioned by name. But this criminal charge is a serious one. Election bribery in Wisconsin is a Class I felony, meaning it’s punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. Elections have always received a lot of media attention, but in recent years that attention has started to shift towards whether elections are fair and honest. It’s for this reason that if you’re charged with election bribery, you’ll likely be bombarded with unwanted attention from the media. Do not talk to them until consulting with an attorney first.
The Milwaukee criminal defense lawyers at Van Severen Law Office, S.C. represent individuals facing criminal charges throughout Wisconsin. This includes criminal allegations dealing with politics, elections, and
Contact us at (414) 270-0202. Let’s schedule a time to sit down for a consultation.
Election bribery – Section 12.11 of the Wisconsin Statutes
Section 12.11 of the Wisconsin Statutes provides us the law regarding election bribery. The relevant section (Wis. Stat. section 12.11(1m)) indicates:
(1m) Any person who does any of the following violates this chapter:
(a) Offers, gives, lends or promises to give or lend, or endeavors to procure, anything of value, or any office or employment or any privilege or immunity to, or for, any elector, or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector to:
1. Go to or refrain from going to the polls.
2. Vote or refrain from voting.
3. Vote or refrain from voting for or against a particular person.
4. Vote or refrain from voting for or against a particular referendum; or on account of any elector having done any of the above.
(b) Receives, agrees or contracts to receive or accept any money, gift, loan, valuable consideration, office or employment personally or for any other person, in consideration that the person or any elector will, so act or has so acted.
(c) Advances, pays or causes to be paid any money to or for the use of any person with the intent that such money or any part thereof will be used to bribe electors at any election.
This law is relatively clear. It focuses on influencing the decisions of others to go to the polls, to vote or not vote, or to vote or not vote for a specific person or referendum. Providing or promising to provide something of value in return for the above-referenced activities is where the bribery comes in. Importantly, this criminal charge applies to both the individual initiating the bribe, and the individual accepting it.
What are the penalties for election bribery?
Many statutes throughout Wisconsin explicitly list the penalties for the relevant crime right within the statute. Others have a general penalty statute that covers various crimes listed in the relevant chapter. This charge is the latter.
Section 12.60 of the Wisconsin Statutes indicates that election bribery is a Class I felony. All Class I felony charges in Wisconsin carry maximum possible sentences of 3.5 years in prison, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. There’s no mandatory or presumptive minimum penalty that applies here. So that means that upon a conviction, the judge isn’t required to send you to prison, or even jail. Much lesser penalties, such as probation or a fine are allowable under the statute. Whether those results are possible, or even probable, is another question that we can determine after digging further into the case.
Are there jury instructions for this offense?
Jury instructions are important tools in the criminal justice system. As the title suggests, they’re the instructions for jurors to use at trial. Substantive criminal jury instructions provide the elements of most criminal offenses in Wisconsin. Elements are important because they’re the things the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction against the defendant.
Unfortunately, the drafters of the Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instructions haven’t created jury instructions for all Wisconsin offenses. There are no official jury instructions for this offense. So while these aren’t official, let’s consider what a few elements could be for this crime. We’ll focus on the briber rather than the bribee:
Firstly, the defendant offered, lent, gifted, or gave (or promised to do so), anything of value, any office or job, or any kind of legal immunity to another actor.
Secondly, the thing of value was provided to encourage the other actor to go or refrain from going to the polls, vote or refrain from voting, or vote or refrain from voting for a specific candidate or referendum.
Thirdly, the defendant provided the thing of value with the intent to encourage or discourage the other actor from voting, or from voting for a specific candidate or referendum.
Election bribery in Wisconsin is a Class I felony. Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. at (414) 270-0202 to be connected with one of Wisconsin’s best criminal defense law firms.
Is driving voters to election polling places considered bribery?
A lot of actions that seem innocuous run the line of criminal conduct when engaged in regarding the election. For example, handing out leaflets within 100 feet of the door or a polling place, on election day, is called electioneering and is criminal. Other things, like showing up to a polling place with a gun and threatening individuals trying to vote is more clear, and qualifies as election threats.
So let’s consider a tough one. You know that your neighbor has no transportation to the local polling place on Election Day. You offer to drive them to the polling place so they can vote. You’re driving, and there’s no exchange of anything of value, so this doesn’t sound like election bribery off the bat. But what if you borrow them your car?
You lent something of value (your car). But did you provide the car in an attempt to encourage them to vote? Or had they already decided? These facts appear to satisfy the statute, but it’s an arguable case from the defensive perspective. Additionally, hopefully a prosecutor reviewing these facts uses his discretion and decides to not charge an individual simply trying to help his neighbor.
If you’re facing criminal charges, call us. (414) 270-0202
At Van Severen Law Office, S.C., all we do is defend individuals accused of violating the law. Sometimes these violations of the law have a connection to elections and the candidates involved in elections.
We get it. Politics these days feels like a constant all-or-nothing game. A significant portion of the population throughout the United States feels like the candidate on the other side is going to doom our country. This is amplified in Wisconsin. We’re a swing state, and it’s a safe bet to assume that politicians have dedicated a large portion of their advertising budgets to our state. We’re being constantly pulled in both directions. We understand that people have emotional responses when faced with this kind of pressure.
Acting on your emotions and feelings when it’s something involving the election can easily lead to you crossing a line you didn’t know existed. We help people in your position. Contact us at (414) 270-0202 and let’s talk about your charges. Initial consultations with our firm are free, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
