Chapter 26 - Offenses And Penalties
CHAPTER 26 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
22-26-101. Felony offenses generally.
(a) The following acts in connection with orrelated to the election process or an election, if knowingly and willfullycommitted, are felony offenses punishable by not more than five (5) years'imprisonment in the state penitentiary or a fine of not more than ten thousanddollars ($10,000.00), or both:
(i) Registration offenses;
(ii) Unlawful opening of a ballot box;
(iii) Unlawful opening of a voting machine;
(iv) Unlawful possession of a key;
(v) False voting;
(vi) Falsifying election documents;
(vii) False swearing;
(viii) Offering a bribe;
(ix) Accepting a bribe;
(x) Intimidation.
22-26-102. Registration offenses.
(a) Registration offenses consist ofperforming any of the following acts with the intent to deceive a registrationofficial or to subvert the registration requirements of the law or rights of aqualified elector:
(i) Signing or offering to sign anapplication to register when not a qualified elector or to register under afalse name;
(ii) Soliciting, procuring, aiding, abetting, inducing orattempting to solicit, procure, aid, abet or induce a person to register underthe name of any other person, or a false name, or to register when not aqualified elector;
(iii) Destroying or altering a registrationrecord when not authorized by law;
(iv) False swearing after being challenged.
22-26-103. Unlawful opening of ballot box.
Unlawfulopening of a ballot box consists of opening a ballot box or inspecting orremoving the contents thereof without lawful authority, or conspiring withothers so to open a ballot box.
22-26-104. Unlawful opening of voting machine.
Unlawfulopening of a voting machine consists of opening, unlocking, inspecting,tampering with, resetting or adjusting a voting machine without lawfulauthority, or conspiring with others to do so.
22-26-105. Unlawful possession of key.
Unlawfulpossession of a key consists of the possession at any time of a key to a votingmachine or ballot box, or making a duplicate thereof, unless authorized by law.
22-26-106. False voting.
(a) False voting consists of:
(i) Voting, or offering to vote, with theknowledge of not being a qualified elector entitled to vote at the election;
(ii) Voting, or offering to vote, in the nameof another person or under a false name;
(iii) Knowingly voting, or offering to vote,in a precinct other than that in which qualified to vote;
(iv) Voting, or offering to vote, more thanonce in an election.
22-26-107. Falsifying election documents.
(a) Falsifying election documents consistsof performing any of the following acts with the intent to deceive or misleadan elector or an election official:
(i) Printing, distributing or displayingfalse instructions for voting or for the conduct of an election;
(ii) Printing, distributing or displaying anyofficial ballot, sample ballot, facsimile diagram, ballot label or pretendedballot which includes the name of a person not entitled by law to be on theballot, or omits the name of a person entitled by law to be on the ballot, orotherwise contains false information or headings;
(iii) Defacing, altering, forging, makingfalse entries in or changing in any way a petition, certificate of nomination,registration record or election return required by law;
(iv) Preparing or submitting a falsecertificate of nomination, registration record or election return.
22-26-108. False swearing.
Falseswearing consists of taking an oath required by the Election Code with theknowledge that the thing or matter sworn to is not true and correct.
22-26-109. Offering bribe.
(a) Offering bribe consists of willfullyadvancing, paying, offering to pay or causing to be paid, or promising,directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing to a person, for anyof the following purposes:
(i) To induce a person to vote or refrainfrom voting for or against a candidate or ballot proposition or to sign or notsign a petition;
(ii) To induce an election official to mark,alter, suppress or change a ballot that has been cast, an election return, anycertificate of election, or petition.
22-26-110. Accepting bribe.
Acceptinga bribe consists of knowingly accepting any payment or promise of payment,directly or indirectly, of money or other valuable thing for any of theunlawful purposes specified in W.S. 22-26-109.
22-26-111. Intimidation.
(a) Intimidation consists of:
(i) Inducing, or attempting to induce, fear in an electionofficial or elector by use of threats of force, violence, harm or loss, or anyform of economic retaliation, for the purpose of impeding or preventing thefree exercise of the elective franchise or the impartial administration of theElection Code; or
(ii) Soliciting the contribution of funds, other items of valueor election assistance to the campaign of any candidate, candidate's committee,political action committee or sponsors of a ballot proposition, by use ofthreats of physical violence or any form of economic or official retaliation.
(b) It is not a defense to a prosecutionunder this section that the defendant did not in fact possess the ability tocarry out the threat made.
22-26-112. Misdemeanor offenses generally.
(a) Unless a different penalty isspecifically provided in this code, the following acts, if knowingly andwillfully committed, are misdemeanor offenses punishable by not more than six(6) months in a county jail or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars($1,000.00), or both:
(i) Electioneering too close to a pollingplace;
(ii) Disturbing a polling place;
(iii) Unlawful possession of alcoholic or maltbeverages at a polling place;
(iv) Accepting or expending any money orincurring any obligation on behalf of any candidate for nomination or electionto office without such candidate's prior written approval;
(v) Employer interfering with politicalrights of employees;
(vi) Discharging an employee because ofnomination for or election to political office;
(vii) Causing or attempting to cause acandidate to withdraw or refuse nomination or election;
(viii) Violating W.S. 22-2-113;
(ix) Violating W.S. 22-25-101 through22-25-115;
(x) Filing or signing a false statement ofreceipts and expenditures required by W.S. 22-25-106.
22-26-113. Electioneering too close to a polling place.
Electioneeringtoo close to a polling place on election day, or absentee polling place underW.S. 22-9-125, consists of any form of campaigning, including the display ofcampaign signs or distribution of campaign literature, the soliciting ofsignatures to any petition or the canvassing or polling of voters, except exitpolling by news media, within one hundred (100) yards of the building in whichthe polling place is located.
22-26-114. Disturbing polling place.
Disturbinga polling place consists of creating any disorder or disruption at a pollingplace on election day, or absentee polling place under W.S. 22-9-125, orinterfering with the orderly conduct of an election.
22-26-115. Unlawful possession of alcoholic or malt beverages.
Unlawfulpossession of alcoholic or malt beverages at a polling place consists of theuse or possession of any alcoholic or malt beverages by an election official whileperforming his official duties or the use or possession by any person of thesebeverages in a polling place during an election.
22-26-116. Interfering with employee's political rights.
Interferingwith an employee's political rights consists of an employer making, adopting,enforcing or attempting to enforce any order, rule, regulation or policyforbidding or preventing any employee from becoming a candidate for publicoffice or for a position on any public board or commission or making, adopting,enforcing or attempting to enforce any order, rule, or regulation controllingor attempting to control such employee's vote on any question at any publicelection, or in any public position or board or in any office to which suchemployee may be appointed or elected.
22-26-117. Discharging employee because of nomination for or electionto office.
Dischargingan employee because of nomination for or election to office consists of anyemployer discharging or causing to leave his, or their employ, temporarily orpermanently, any person or persons because he or they have been nominated as acandidate for or elected to any position of honor, trust or emolument, to bevoted for at any election, held in pursuance of the laws of this state.
22-26-118. Causing or attempting to cause candidate to withdraw orrefuse nomination or election.
Causingor attempting to cause a candidate to withdraw or refuse nomination or electionconsists of any person, or agent, or officer, or any company, or corporationeither causing or attempting to cause any person or persons nominated ascandidates or elected at any election, to withdraw, or refrain from acceptingsuch nomination or election by threatening loss of employment, business orpatronage, if he or they accept such candidacy or election, or making it acondition of employment, business or patronage, that such candidacy or electionshall not be accepted.
22-26-119. Violation of Election Code by officials.
Violationof the Election Code by an official consists of the willful violation of theElection Code by any official or by any deputy or assistant official, or thewillful failure or refusal of any official or assistant to perform an act orduty required of him by the Election Code. Any official, deputy or assistantwho commits a violation of the Election Code is guilty of a felony and, inaddition to the penalty prescribed by W.S. 22-26-101, is subject to removalfrom office in a proceeding instituted for that purpose.
22-26-120. Violation of Election Code when specific penalty notimposed.
Ifthe Election Code does not impose a specific penalty for the willful violationof a provision prohibiting a specific act or requiring the discharge of aspecific duty, whoever knowingly commits a violation or fails to discharge theduty is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by the penalty prescribed by W.S.22-26-112.
22-26-121. Complaint by aggrieved elector; chief election officials.
(a) Any qualified elector aggrieved by any violation of theWyoming Election Code of 1973, as amended, may file a written complaint of theviolation with the secretary of state or with the district attorney for thecounty in which the elector resides. If the secretary of state or the districtattorney fails or refuses for any reason to take action on or prosecute theelector's complaint, the elector may file the complaint with the Wyomingattorney general. If the attorney general finds that the elector's complainthas merit, he may prosecute the complaint in the appropriate courts of this state.
(b) A chief election officer may file a written complaint withthe district attorney or attorney general regarding any violation of theWyoming Election Code of 1973, as amended. If the attorney general finds thatthe election officer's complaint has merit, he may prosecute the complaint inthe appropriate courts of this state and if the violation is reasonablybelieved to occur in more than one (1) district the complaint may be filed inthe district court for Laramie county.