18 U.S.C. § 596 — Polling armed forces
submitted 78 years ago by ch. 645 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 208 words · no verdicts yet
This section makes it a crime to poll members of the Armed Forces about their choices or votes for candidates, or to publish such poll results. The punishment is a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
A person, whether inside or outside the Armed Forces and whether inside or outside the United States, may not ask a member of the Armed Forces—before or after the member votes under Federal or State law—about the member’s choice of or vote for a candidate. The person also may not state, publish, or release the result of a claimed poll of Armed Forces members that includes a member’s choice or vote for a candidate. The punishment is a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.
Here, “poll” means a spoken or written request for information whose words or form require or imply an answer, when the requester intends to collect the answers for personal use, to report them to another person, political party, association, or corporation, or to publish them orally, by radio, or in writing or print.
Whoever, within or without the Armed Forces of the United States, polls any member of such forces, either within or without the United States, either before or after he executes any ballot under any Federal or State law, with reference to his choice of or his vote for any candidate, or states, publishes, or releases any result of any purported poll taken from or among the members of the Armed Forces of the United States or including within it the statement of choice for such candidate or of such votes cast by any member of the Armed Forces of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
The word “poll” means any request for information, verbal or written, which by its language or form of expression requires or implies the necessity of an answer, where the request is made with the intent of compiling the result of the answers obtained, either for the personal use of the person making the request, or for the purpose of reporting the same to any other person, persons, political party, unincorporated association or corporation, or for the purpose of publishing the same orally, by radio, or in written or printed form.
Source credit: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 720; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(H), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
- 1948Enacted · Act of June 25, 1948, ch. 645 · 62 Stat. 720
- 1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-322 · 108 Stat. 2147
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 645 on 1948-06-25.
all 0 arguments · sorted by: best
no arguments yet — make the first case