115.631. Class one election offenses.
Class one election offenses.
115.631. The following offenses, and any others specifically sodescribed by law, shall be class one election offenses and are deemedfelonies connected with the exercise of the right of suffrage. Convictionfor any of these offenses shall be punished by imprisonment of not morethan five years or by fine of not less than two thousand five hundreddollars but not more than ten thousand dollars or by both such imprisonmentand fine:
(1) Willfully and falsely making any certificate, affidavit, orstatement required to be made pursuant to any provision of sections 115.001to 115.641 and sections 51.450* and 51.460, RSMo, including but not limitedto statements specifically required to be made "under penalty of perjury";or in any other manner knowingly furnishing false information to anelection authority or election official engaged in any lawful duty oraction in such a way as to hinder or mislead the authority or official inthe performance of official duties. If an individual willfully and falselymakes any certificate, affidavit, or statement required to be made undersection 115.155, including but not limited to statements specificallyrequired to be made "under penalty of perjury", such individual shall beguilty of a class C felony;
(2) Voting more than once or voting at any election knowing that theperson is not entitled to vote or that the person has already voted on thesame day at another location inside or outside the state of Missouri;
(3) Procuring any person to vote knowing the person is not lawfullyentitled to vote or knowingly procuring an illegal vote to be cast at anyelection;
(4) Applying for a ballot in the name of any other person, whetherthe name be that of a person living or dead or of a fictitious person, orapplying for a ballot in his own or any other name after having once votedat the election inside or outside the state of Missouri;
(5) Aiding, abetting or advising another person to vote knowing theperson is not legally entitled to vote or knowingly aiding, abetting oradvising another person to cast an illegal vote;
(6) An election judge knowingly causing or permitting any ballot tobe in the ballot box at the opening of the polls and before the votingcommences;
(7) Knowingly furnishing any voter with a false or fraudulent orbogus ballot, or knowingly practicing any fraud upon a voter to induce himto cast a vote which will be rejected, or otherwise defrauding him of hisvote;
(8) An election judge knowingly placing or attempting to place orpermitting any ballot, or paper having the semblance of a ballot, to beplaced in a ballot box at any election unless the ballot is offered by aqualified voter as provided by law;
(9) Knowingly placing or attempting to place or causing to be placedany false or fraudulent or bogus ballot in a ballot box at any election;
(10) Knowingly removing any legal ballot from a ballot box for thepurpose of changing the true and lawful count of any election or in anyother manner knowingly changing the true and lawful count of any election;
(11) Knowingly altering, defacing, damaging, destroying or concealingany ballot after it has been voted for the purpose of changing the lawfulcount of any election;
(12) Knowingly altering, defacing, damaging, destroying or concealingany poll list, report, affidavit, return or certificate for the purpose ofchanging the lawful count of any election;
(13) On the part of any person authorized to receive, tally or counta poll list, tally sheet or election return, receiving, tallying orcounting a poll list, tally sheet or election return the person knows isfraudulent, forged or counterfeit, or knowingly making an incorrect accountof any election;
(14) On the part of any person whose duty it is to grant certificatesof election, or in any manner declare the result of an election, granting acertificate to a person the person knows is not entitled to receive thecertificate, or declaring any election result the person knows is basedupon fraudulent, fictitious or illegal votes or returns;
(15) Willfully destroying or damaging any official ballots, whethermarked or unmarked, after the ballots have been prepared for use at anelection and during the time they are required by law to be preserved inthe custody of the election judges or the election authority;
(16) Willfully tampering with, disarranging, altering the informationon, defacing, impairing or destroying any voting machine or marking deviceafter the machine or marking device has been prepared for use at anelection and during the time it is required by law to remain locked andsealed with intent to impair the functioning of the machine or markingdevice at an election, mislead any voter at the election, or to destroy orchange the count or record of votes on such machine;
(17) Registering to vote knowing the person is not legally entitledto register or registering in the name of another person, whether the namebe that of a person living or dead or of a fictitious person;
(18) Procuring any other person to register knowing the person is notlegally entitled to register, or aiding, abetting or advising anotherperson to register knowing the person is not legally entitled to register;
(19) Knowingly preparing, altering or substituting any computerprogram or other counting equipment to give an untrue or unlawful result ofan election;
(20) On the part of any person assisting a blind or disabled personto vote, knowingly failing to cast such person's vote as such persondirects;
(21) On the part of any registration or election official, permittingany person to register to vote or to vote when such official knows theperson is not legally entitled to register or not legally entitled to vote;
(22) On the part of a notary public acting in his official capacity,knowingly violating any of the provisions of sections 115.001 to 115.627 orany provision of law pertaining to elections;
(23) Violation of any of the provisions of sections 115.275 to115.303, or of any provision of law pertaining to absentee voting;
(24) Assisting a person to vote knowing such person is not legallyentitled to such assistance, or while assisting a person to vote who islegally entitled to such assistance, in any manner coercing, requesting orsuggesting that the voter vote for or against, or refrain from voting onany question, ticket or candidate;
(25) Engaging in any act of violence, destruction of property havinga value of five hundred dollars or more, or threatening an act of violencewith the intent of denying a person's lawful right to vote or toparticipate in the election process; and
(26) Knowingly providing false information about election proceduresfor the purpose of preventing any person from going to the polls.
(L. 1977 H.B. 101 § 15.005, A.L. 1983 S.B. 234, A.L. 1997 S.B. 132, A.L. 2005 H.B. 353, A.L. 2006 S.B. 1014 & 730)*Section 51.450 was repealed by S.B. 65, et al., 1987.