Election threats, and certain interferences with voters, is a felony in Wisconsin. Contact Van Severen Law Office for help: (414) 270-0202
With the growing contention surrounding elections, election threats have become commonplace around the country. Wisconsin is no exception, and state law punishes individuals for interfering with others as they’re voting. While not all interferences count, those involving threats, violence, and other deliberate attempts to stop an individual from voting certainly do.
Election threats is a Class I felony in Wisconsin. That means that upon conviction for this offense, the maximum penalty a defendant faces is 3.5 years prison, $10,000.00 in fines, or both. In Wisconsin, prison penalties are bifurcated, meaning they’re broken down into a maximum term of initial confinement (time actually spent in prison) and extended supervision (supervision, similar to probation). The maximum initial confinement for this charge is 1.5 years, followed by a maximum term of extended supervision of 2 years. No mandatory minimum penalties apply to an individual convicted of election threats.
At Van Severen Law Office, S.C., our Milwaukee criminal defense lawyers regularly represent individuals accused of criminal conduct throughout Wisconsin. Whether it’s a felony, like this, or a misdemeanor, we’ve numerous criminal defense attorneys that can help. Importantly, we also recognize that a criminal allegation like this can lead to coverage from the media. Don’t talk to them. Let us handle that. We regularly work on high profile cases that involve the media attention, and we’re comfortable helping you navigate this aspect of things.
Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. at (414) 270-0202 to get started. We offer free initial consultations to potential clients.
Section 12.09 of the Wisconsin Statutes – Election threats
(1) No person may personally or through an agent make use of or threaten to make use of force, violence, or restraint in order to induce or compel any person to vote or refrain from voting at an election.
(2) No person may personally or through an agent, by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance, impede or prevent the free exercise of the franchise at an election.
(3) No person may personally or through an agent, by any act compel,induce, or prevail upon an elector either to vote or refrain from voting at any election for or against a particular candidate or referendum.
So let’s break a few of these down. It’s a crime for you, or for you to have an employee or other actor, use force, violence, or restraint in order to make or prevent someone from voting. This applies regardless of whether there is a specific candidate or referendum you’re pulling for.
Let’s consider an easy example: you go to your polling place and stand in front of one of the main entrance doors with an assault rifle. You refuse to leave and intentionally obstruct individuals entering the building. While this case will certainly rely on circumstantial evidence – what you say, how you interact with others, perhaps other things you’re wearing – the government is likely to allege that you deprived others of the ability to vote by threatening use of force or violence. Additional charges, such as disorderly conduct, could apply.
What about a closer case? What if you’re standing near the entrance of a polling place and you simply tell others that they should vote for a specific candidate? You’re not armed, you’re not shouting, you’re not swearing, and you’re not blocking anyone from entering the facility. Wis. Stat. 12.09(3) applies, but only if you’re directing these activities to an elector, rather than a normal voter.
What are the criminal jury instructions for election threats?
When our criminal defense lawyers meet with new clients, frequently one of the things we’ll discuss are the jury instructions that apply to a specific crime. Jury instructions in Wisconsin break down crimes into small parts that we call elements. And elements are what the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a guilty verdict against the defendant. So they’re important. Unfortunately, the drafters of the official jury instructions did not create them for all criminal laws. Election threats is an example of a crime that does not have official jury instructions.
In court when faced with this problem, courts will just draft just instructions. Let’s do the same. Here’s an example of what the elements could be for election threats in Wisconsin, specifically section 12.09(1) of the Wisconsin Statutes:
Firstly, the defendant induced or compelled any person to vote or not vote in an election;
Secondly, the defendant induced or compelled by use, or threat of use, of force, violence, or restraint;
Thirdly, the defendant induced direction, or through use of an agent; and
Finally, the defendant induced or compelled knowingly.
The first elements break down the actual actions required to satisfy the statute. The final one adds a knowledge element – that this wasn’t simply an accident but the defendant knew what he was doing.
At Van Severen Law Office, S.C., our criminal defense attorneys regularly represent individuals accused of violating Wisconsin laws. This includes election threats, which is a felony in Wisconsin. Contact us at (414) 270-0202 to speak with our staff about how we can help.
Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. to speak with some of Wisconsin’s best criminal defense lawyers:
Facing charges for election threats has probably caused you a lot of stress. Reporters might be stalking you at work, school, and home. Family and friends may be upset about your alleged actions. And you’re probably worried about the fact that a prison sentence is a possibility.
But at Van Severen Law Office, we’ve been down this road with clients before. We recognize and appreciate exactly what you’re going through, and our only goal is to help. We believe in defending individuals accused of violating Wisconsin laws, defending the constitution, and holding police and prosecutors in check. You have many rights as a criminal defendant in Wisconsin, and we’re here to help you exercise them.
Van Severen Law Office is consistently recognized as one of Wisconsin’s best criminal defense law firms. Many of our criminal defense lawyers have received the same recognition individually. Contact us at (414) 270-0202 and let’s figure out whether our firm can help.
