§2H2.1 Obstructing an Election or Registration: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
Fiscal year 2019 had 17 people sentenced under guideline §2H2.1, "Obstructing an Election or Registration." 12 of them (71%) received probation only, and 4 (24%) were sent to prison with a median term of 1.5 months. 15 of the 17 sentences (88%) were within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2H2.1 Obstructing an Election or Registration › §2H2.1: FY2019
In brief: Fiscal year 2019 had 17 people sentenced under guideline §2H2.1, "Obstructing an Election or Registration." 12 of them (71%) received probation only, and 4 (24%) were sent to prison with a median term of 1.5 months. 15 of the 17 sentences (88%) were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Mostly Probation, With a Short Prison Term for 4
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 17 people in fiscal year 2019 whose primary guideline was §2H2.1. 12 (71%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 4 (24%) received a prison term.
The median prison term among those 4 was 1.5 months. A quarter received 2.2 months or more, and a quarter received 0.9 months or less.
For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 41% of the 71 people under this guideline were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 7 months. Fiscal year 2019 had a lower share sent to prison and a lower median.
Almost All Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range
15 sentences (88%) were within the guideline range. 1 (6%) was below the range at the government's request, and 1 (6%) was below it without a government request. None were above the range.
The within-range share was higher than the 72% for all years under this guideline. It was also higher than the 51% for everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 17 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. 65% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 35% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 17 people.
Fines and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 13 people (76%). Restitution was ordered for 0 people. 4 people (24%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
88% were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 0% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
How the Year Fits the Yearly Table
The table shows that fiscal year 2019, with 17 people, is the largest group under this guideline in any year. Other years range from 3 to 14 people. The medians for the other years range from 1.2 months to 22 months. Fiscal years 2021 and 2022 show n/a for the median.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2019, 76,538 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 21 months. The Commission files the §2H2.1 cases under the offense type Individual Rights. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 1.2 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 4 | 21 months | 1 of 4 |
| 2018 | 6 | 11 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 17 | 1.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 4 | 22 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 14 | n/a | 100% |
| 2022 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 8 | 8 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 4 | 7 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2025 | 8 | 16.5 months | 8 of 8 |
Limits of the Records
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are reported.
These records cover only people who were convicted and sentenced, and with a median based on 4 people, a single sentence changes the figure. The data does not describe individual cases or explain differences between years.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2H2.1 (17), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2H2.1 Obstructing an Election or Registration: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.