(a) A person commits the crime of unlawful interference with voting in the first degree if the person

Attorney's Note

Under the Alaska Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonyup to 5 yearsup to $50,000
For details, see Alaska Stat. § 12.55.125

Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 15.56.030

  • ballot: means any document provided by the director on which votes may be cast for candidates, propositions, or questions. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • division: means the division of elections created under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • election official: means election board members, members of counting or review boards, employees of the division of elections, and absentee voting officials. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • party district committee: means the political party committee that performs the executive function for a region representing an area larger than a precinct and smaller than the state. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • political group: means a group of organized voters which represents a political program and which does not qualify as a political party. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • political party: means an organized group of voters that represents a political program and has at least 5,000 registered voters in the state. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • proposition: means an initiative, referendum, or constitutional amendment submitted at an election to the public for vote. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • question: means an issue placed on the ballot to determine whether a judge or justice shall be accepted or rejected, whether a constitutional convention shall be called, whether a state debt shall be contracted, or whether a state official shall be recalled. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
  • voter: means a person who presents oneself for the purpose of voting either in person or by absentee ballot. See Alaska Statutes 15.80.010
(1) uses, threatens to use, or causes to be used force, coercion, violence, or restraint, or inflicts, threatens to inflict, or causes to be inflicted damage, harm, or loss, upon or against another person to induce or compel that person to vote or refrain from voting in an election;
(2) knowingly pays, offers to pay, or causes to be paid money or other valuable thing to a person to vote or refrain from voting in an election;
(3) solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept money or other valuable thing with the intent to vote for or refrain from voting for a candidate at an election or for an election proposition or question;
(4) violates Alaska Stat. § 15.20.081(a) by knowingly supplying or encouraging or assisting another person to supply to a voter an absentee ballot application form with a political party or group affiliation indicated if the voter is not already registered as affiliated with that political party or group, and the person has been previously convicted of unlawful interference with voting in the second degree under Alaska Stat. § 15.56.035(a)(5);
(5) knowingly designs, marks, or encourages or assists another person to design or mark an absentee ballot application in a manner that suggests choice of one ballot over another as prohibited by Alaska Stat. § 15.20.081(a), and the person has been previously convicted of unlawful interference with voting in the second degree under Alaska Stat. § 15.56.035(a)(6); or
(6) knowingly submits or encourages or assists another person to submit an absentee ballot application to an intermediary who could control or delay the submission of the application to the division of elections or who could gather data from the application form as prohibited by Alaska Stat. § 15.20.081(a), and the person has been previously convicted of unlawful interference with voting in the second degree under Alaska Stat. § 15.56.035(a)(7).
(b) Violation of this section is a corrupt practice.
(c) Unlawful interference with voting in the first degree is a class C felony.
(d) For purposes of (a)(2) and (3) of this section, “other valuable thing”

(1) includes

(A) an entry in a game of chance in which a prize of money or other present or future pecuniary gain or advantage may be awarded to a participant wherein the total of the prizes offered is greater than $2 per participant with a maximum of $100; and
(B) government employment or benefits;
(2) does not include

(A) materials having a nominal value bearing the name, likeness, or other identification of a candidate, political party, political group, party district committee, or organization, or stating a position on a ballot proposition or question;
(B) food and refreshments provided incidental to an activity that is nonpartisan in nature and directed at encouraging persons to vote, or incidental to a gathering in support of or in opposition to a candidate, political party, political group, party district committee, organization, or ballot question or proposition;
(C) care of the voter’s dependents provided in connection with the absence of a voter from home for the purpose of voting;
(D) services provided by a person acting as a representative under Alaska Stat. § 15.20.072;
(E) services provided by an election official as defined in Alaska Stat. § 15.80.010; and
(F) transportation of a voter to or from the polls without charge.
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