CHALLENGES Act

This bill aims to stop bad‑faith challenges to voter registrations. It says that, unless you are an election official, you can only file a formal challenge if you have strong proof about that specific voter, you swear under penalty of perjury that you have personal knowledge, and, if you are an individual, you are registered in the same local area as the voter you are challenging. It also bans mass, computer‑based “data matching” as the basis for a challenge. State or local online challenge portals must reject anonymous challenges and clearly explain these rules .

People harmed by a bad‑faith challenge can sue right away, recover their costs, and get up to $1,000 in punitive damages per violation. Knowingly filing a false challenge, ignoring facts that show the voter is eligible, or sharing false information expecting someone else to use it to file a challenge can lead to fines and up to six months in jail; organizations can be fined $10,000 per violation. These changes apply to challenges made after the law takes effect.

Key points

• Who is affected: Registered voters, people or groups that file challenges, and election offices that run online challenge portals .
• What changes: Strict proof and oath requirements for challenges; no mass data matching; no anonymous online challenges; civil lawsuits allowed with damages; criminal penalties for false challenges or spreading false info to trigger a challenge .
• When: Applies to challenges made after the law is enacted.