AI-assisted research summary: This section makes many kinds of election misconduct a misdemeanor and sets fines, and in some cases jail or hard labor, for things like vote buying, bribery, interference with voters, ballot tampering, and disclosing vote information.
(a) Any person who shall willfully fail or refuse to perform or discharge any duty relating to absent voters required of him by this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be fined not more than $100.00. (b) Any person found drunk or intoxicated at or about any polling place during any municipal election day is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $500.00 and may also be imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced to hard labor for the county for not more than six months. (c) Any person who, at a municipal election, interferes with any elector when inside the polling place or when marking the ballot, or unduly influences or attempts to unduly influence any elector in the preparation of his ballot must, on conviction, be fined not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00. (d) Any person who, during or before a municipal election, willfully removes, tears down, destroys, or defaces any booth or compartment or any convenience provided for the purpose of enabling electors to prepare their ballots or any card printed for the instruction of electors must, on conviction, be fined not less than $10.00 nor more than $500.00. (e) Any person who buys or offers to buy any vote of any qualified elector at any municipal election by the payment of money or the promise to pay the same at any future time or by the gift of intoxicating liquors or other valuable thing shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $100.00. (f) Any person who by bribery or offering to bribe or by any other corrupt means attempts to influence any elector in giving his vote in a municipal election or to deter him from giving the same or to disturb or to hinder him in the full exercise of the right of suffrage at any municipal election must, on conviction, be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00. (g) Any person who, by the offer of money or the gift of money or by the gift of intoxicating liquor or other valuable thing to any qualified elector at any municipal election or by the loan of money to such elector with the intent that the same shall not be repaid, attempts to influence the vote of such elector at such election, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00. (h) Any person who discloses how any elector voted at a municipal election shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 and may also be sentenced to hard labor for the county for not more than six months. (i) Any person who fraudulently alters or changes the vote of any elector, by which such elector is prevented from voting in a municipal election as he intended, must, on conviction, be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00 and may also be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than six months. (j) Any person who compares the number on the ballot in a municipal election with the poll list shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than $100.00; provided, that this subsection shall not apply on the trial of any contested elections. (k) Any person who makes a copy of the poll list, or any memoranda therefrom, or list of the persons voting at any municipal election or the number of their ballots or discloses the number of a voter’s ballot shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $200.00. (l) Any person who, on a municipal election day, disturbs or prevents or attempts to prevent any elector from freely casting his ballot must, on conviction, be fined not less than $500.00 nor more than $1,000.00 and may also be sentenced to hard labor for the county or imprisoned in the county jail for not less than six months nor more than one year. (m) Any person who forges or falsely writes the name or initials of any inspector of a municipal election on any ballot shall, on conviction, be punished by hard labor for the county for not more than 12 months or by a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $2,000.00 or by both fine and sentence to hard labor.