Secretary Raffensperger Calls on Legislators to Increase Penalties of $1 Million in Fines, Minimum 10 years in Prison for Criminal Violations of Georgia Election Code

Atlanta – Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is urging members of the Georgia General Assembly to update the election code to increase the penalties for tampering or attempting to tamper with voting machines in any Georgia election. Currently, criminals who attempt to interfere with the lawful operation of a voting machine who are found guilty of a felony under Georgia law are only subject to 1-10 years of jail time and a maximum penalty of $10,000.

“Voting is the foundation of our democracy, and those who attempt to interfere with that fundamental right should be subject to higher penalties. A felony with a short sentence or small fine is not sufficient justice for those who attempt to interfere with our democracy,” said Secretary Raffensperger.

“I believe our equipment is critical infrastructure and should be treated that way. It is time for the Legislature to update the penalties to a $1 million fine and a minimum of 10 years in jail associated with crimes against elections. Extremist groups that seek to invalidate the security of our elections should face serious legal consequences for their actions. Groups that attempt to gain illegal access or give illegal access to voting machines should be subject to high fines and minimum jail time.”

“The integrity of our elections is fundamental to American democracy,” said Raffensperger. “Part of ensuring security is deterring criminal actors, and the other part is prosecuting those criminals to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 17 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, and 2022. 2022 achieved the largest single day of in-person early voting turnout in Georgia midterm history utilizing Georgia’s secure, paper ballot voting system. Most recently, Georgia ranked #1 for Election Integrity by the Heritage Foundation, a top ranking for Voter Accessibility by the Center for Election Innovation & Research, and tied for number one in Election Administration by the Bipartisan Policy Center.