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To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to make it a felony offense for any person who is seeking to be a candidate in an election for Federal office or an employee or agent of such a person to knowingly fraudulently sign any materials or documentation required to be filed as a condition of ballot access for such election, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to make it a felony offense for any person seeking to be a candidate in a federal election or an employee or agent of such a person to knowingly fraudulently sign materials or documentation required for ballot access. Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both. The bill takes effect upon enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Actions (2)
- May 21, 2026 Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
- May 21, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2026
Mr. Lawler introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to make it a felony offense for any person who is seeking to be a candidate in an election for Federal office or an employee or agent of such a person to knowingly fraudulently sign any materials or documentation required to be filed as a condition of ballot access for such election, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “End Fraudulent Filings that Interfere with Elections Act” or the “EFFIE Act”.
SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY WITH RESPECT TO CAMPAIGNS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.
(a) Restrictions.—Section 324 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) is amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 324. FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY WITH RESPECT TO BALLOT ACCESS IN AN ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.
“(a) In General.—No person who is seeking to be a candidate in an election for Federal office or an employee or agent of such a person shall knowingly fraudulently sign any materials or documentation required to be submitted as a condition of ballot access for such election.
“(b) Penalties.—Any violation of this section shall be a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $250,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both.”.
(b) Effective Date.—This section and the amendment made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. <all>
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