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# §2H2.1 Obstructing an Election or Registration: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h2-1-obstructing-an-election-or-registration/
- Published: 2026-11-03T01:40:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:40:08.000Z
- Description: Of 71 people sentenced under §2H2.1, obstructing an election or registration, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 37 (52%) received probation only and 29 (41%) received prison. The median prison term was 7 months.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2H2.1

**In brief:** Of 71 people sentenced under §2H2.1, obstructing an election or registration, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 37 (52%) received probation only and 29 (41%) received prison. The median prison term was 7 months.

Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 71 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Probation Was the More Common Result

The title of §2H2.1 is "Obstructing an Election or Registration." The Sentencing Commission counted 71 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with it as the primary guideline, under the offense type Individual Rights.

Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was ordered for 37 people (52%). Prison was ordered for 29 (41%).

## Prison Length

The median prison term was 7 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 2.3 months or less.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 people (3%).

A median is the middle value when the prison terms are put in order. For the 29 people sent to prison, the middle term was 7 months. The prison group is small, so the median can shift with a few cases.

## Fines Were Common

A fine was ordered for 39 people (55%), more often than prison was. Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%).

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 25 people (35%), with a median term of 12 months.

The Commission reports a fine for more people than prison. The records do not say how many people received both.

## Pleas, Trials, and the Range

Guilty pleas numbered 65 of 71 (92%), and 6 people were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 75% had a written plea agreement and 25% were straight pleas.

The median prison term was 6 months after a guilty plea and 9.5 months after a trial, based on 6 people sent to prison.

Most sentences, 51 (72%), were within the guideline range. The sentence was below the range at the government's request in 9 cases (13%), below it without a request in 9 (13%), and above it in 2 (3%).

## Criminal History

In criminal history, 85% were in the lowest category I and 0% were in the highest (VI).

Because the yearly counts are small, the full 10 fiscal years together are a steadier guide than any one year. The 2 years with no median shown, 2021 and 2022, had 14 and 3 people.

## Small Yearly Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 30 people and a median prison term of 4.5 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 41 people and a median of 12 months.

The yearly table has 3 to 17 people per year. In 2021 and 2022, no median is shown (n/a). Medians that rest on so few cases move a great deal from year to year.

| 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

Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so no court-martial comparison is given.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2H2.1 (71), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [§2H1.1 Offenses Involving Individual Rights: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h1-1-offenses-involving-individual-rights/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2H4.1 Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h4-1-peonage-involuntary-servitude-and-slave-trade/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2H3.3 Obstructing Correspondence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h3-3-obstructing-correspondence/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2H3.1 Interception of Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h3-1-interception-of-communications/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.