Prohibits deceptive practices and the suppression of voters, and increases penalties for violations of the elective franchise

• Democratic5

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Andrea Stewart-Cousins says this is needed

Voter suppression continues to impact the most at-risk New Yorkers every election cycle. While acts of voter suppression can sometimes be subtle, the impacts are often strong and widespread. As technology continues to advance, bad actors across the state, the nation, and the world are able to easily and deliberately suppress the voting rights of individuals, especially those in marginalized groups. An example of these suppression tactics can be found in New Hampshire, where Steven Kramer, a political consultant, admitted to sending thou- sands of voicemails to registered democrats two days before the state's presidential primary election. The voicemail message was read out by a generative artificial intelligence model trained to mimic the voice and speech pattern of President Joe Biden, and the message itself falsely claimed that voting in the presidential primary would prevent individ- uals from voting in the 2024 general presidential election. Another example from the 2020 presidential election involved conserva- tive actors Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, based in Arlington, Virginia. In August 2020, these individuals sent out robocalls to 85,000 individ- uals located in predominately minority communities in New York, Illi- nois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, containing false statements that authori- ties would use information from mail-in ballots to track down individuals with arrest warrants or outstanding debt. In October 2020, these bad actors were ordered by a federal court to call all 85,000 individuals to correct their misinformation, and in August 2024, they entered a settlement with New York State to pay $1.25 million for their actions. This legislation would fill a void in the Election Law by directly addressing and holding accountable those who intentionally suppress the right to vote. While it is unfortunate such a law is needed, New York State must send a message that such actions will no longer be tolerated, and that those who seek to infringe on others' constitutional rights will be held criminally liable.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.