Let's Stop Tricking the Newbies Act (Debating)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Currently the Department of Justice is working on a wholesale revision of the Criminal Law that will be placed before the Senate in due course (i.e. in the next few days, God willing). The reforms are largely of a technical nature, but they will entail the repeal of the Re-Consolidated Criminal Justice Act.

One specific point now: we have decided to broaden the concept of Intimidation to that of the application of 'undue pressure' rather than the much narrower definitions given in the current Act. This could easily be extended further from the act of voting (perhaps) including also the issue of registration. We are also proposing a new crime of Electoral Fraud which would prohibit all attempts to fraudulently alter election results (current law is deficient in this area, to say the least).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ignoring for a moment the rights and wrongs of the bill in principle, the practicalities here seem nightmarish; could this bill be enforced? Would the DoJ have much chance of securing a conviction using it? There are strong reasons to suspect that this would be dead letter as soon as it became law.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The biggest problem isn't constitutionality so much as practicality.