§3-9-1. False or fraudulent returns; tampering with, destroying or misdelivering ballots, records, etc.; forgeries; aiding, etc., in offense; penalties.

Every person named and identified in this section, who shall violate any of the provisions of the election laws as herein specified, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in a state correctional facility for not less than one nor more than ten years:

(a) Any commissioner of election or poll clerk who shall knowingly make or cause to be made, or conspire with others to make, a false return of the result of the votes cast for any candidate at any precinct in an election held pursuant to law; or

(b) Any commissioner of election receiving the ballot of a voter to be deposited in the ballot box at any election precinct, who shall put another ballot in the box instead of the one received by him; or

(c) Any commissioner of election or poll clerk, who knowingly shall count and string a ballot not taken from the ballot box, in lieu of one taken, or which should have been taken from such ballot box; or

(d) Any commissioner of a county court, whether acting as such or ex officio as a member of a board of canvassers or otherwise, clerk of a county court, or other person, who shall, except as authorized by law, abstract any ballot from any package of ballots voted, sealed or returned from any election precinct, either before or after they are filed with the clerk of the county court, or who shall in any manner change any such ballot from what it was when voted by the voter, or who shall put another ballot in such package in the place of the one so abstracted therefrom; or

(e) Any commissioner of a county court, whether acting as such commissioner or ex officio as a member of a board of canvassers, or otherwise, who shall knowingly make and enter of record, or in any way aid, counsel, or advise the same to be done, or permit the same to be done without objection on his part, any false or fraudulent statement of the result of any election held within the county; or

(f) Any person who shall falsely make, or fraudulently deface, or fraudulently destroy, any certificate of nomination, or any part thereof, or file any certificate of nomination, knowing the same, or any part thereof, to be falsely made, or suppress any certificate of nomination which has been duly filed, or any part thereof; or erase, deface, or change in any manner, any election record, or any ballot, poll book, tally sheet or certificate of election, deposited with either of the clerks of the county or circuit courts; or conspire with another to do any of said acts; or induce or attempt to induce any other persons to do any of said acts; or

(g) Any person who shall aid, assist, counsel or advise in the commission of any of the offenses above specified, whether or not said acts, or any of them be committed or attempted to be committed; or

(h) Any person, who, without the assent of another, shall sign the name of such other person to any certificate, affidavit, ballot, report, statement or writing, required under any provision of this chapter, with intent to mislead and deceive; or who shall use or employ any certificate, affidavit, ballot, report, statement or writing to which the name of a person has been signed without the authority of such person, knowing that such name has been so signed with intent to mislead or deceive; or

(i) Any clerk of a court, poll clerk, member of the board of ballot commissioners, commissioner of election, or messenger intrusted with the custody of the ballots, who shall open unlawfully any of the packages in which the ballots are contained, or permit any of them to be opened, or destroy any of such ballots, or permit them to be destroyed, or give, or deliver any such packages or ballots to any person not lawfully entitled to receive them, as in this chapter provided, or conspire to procure, or in any way aid, abet, or connive at any robbery, loss or unlawful destruction of any such ballots or packages; or

(j) Any person not duly authorized by law who shall, during the progress of any election in this state, or after the closing of the polls and before the ballots are counted and the results ascertained, or within twelve months thereafter, open without breaking, or break open or violate, the seals or locks of any ballot box, paper, envelope or bag, in which ballots have been deposited at or after such election, or who shall obtain possession of such ballot box, paper, envelope or bag containing such ballots, and cancel, withhold, or destroy such ballots, or who shall fraudulently or forcibly add to or diminish the number of ballots legally deposited therein, or who shall fraudulently make any erasure or alteration of any kind, upon any tally sheet, poll book, list of voters, or election returns, deposited therein; or

(k) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization from the Secretary of State, a county clerk or municipal clerk directly or indirectly, tampers with, deletes, alters, damages or destroys or attempts to tamper with, delete, alter, damage or destroy any computer or computer network that contains voter registration files, records or data or who knowingly introduces, directly or indirectly, a computer contaminant into any computer, computer program or computer network that contains voter registration files, records or data; or

(l) Any person who knowingly, directly or indirectly, accesses, attempts to access, or causes to be accessed any voter registration files, records or data stored on or in a computer owned by the Secretary of State, a county commission or municipality, without authorization; or

(m) Any person employed by the Secretary of State, a county commission or a municipality who knowingly, directly or indirectly accesses, attempts to access or causes to be accessed any voter registration files, records or data stored on or in a computer in an unauthorized manner, in excess of his or her authorization or for unauthorized use or purpose.