obstruction of justice under Section 3C1.1 (two levels), for a
total offense level of twenty. Id. at 311. The defendant was
sentenced to forty-six months of imprisonment. Id. at 305. The
Seventh Circuit held that the district judge’s sentencing analysis
was accurate. Id. at 311.
In United States v. Haynes, Nos. 91-5979, 91-6076, 1992
WL 296782, at *1 (6th Cir. Oct. 15, 1992), the defendants, party
officials authorized to register voters, were convicted of conspiracy
against rights and deprivation of constitutional rights in violation
of 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242 by destroying over 150 voter
registration applications. Starting with a base level of twelve, they
received upward adjustments of two levels for abuse of a position
of trust, and five levels for multiple counts, resulting in a total
offense level of nineteen. Id. at *3-4. The trial court imposed
sentences of thirty months of imprisonment. Id. at *2. The
Sixth Circuit upheld these sentences with the exception of a twolevel reduction for the less culpable defendant. Id.at *3.
Other election fraud convictions have resulted in similar
calculations under the sentencing guidelines. E.g., United States
v. Slone, 411 F.3d 643, 650-51 (6th Cir. 2005) (affirming
defendant’s conviction for vote-buying in violation of 52 U.S.C.
§ 10307(c) and sentence of fifteen months’ imprisonment
calculated on a base offense level of twelve under § 2H2.1(a)(2),
plus a two-level enhancement for obstructing justice under
§ 3C1.1(b) for lying to the FBI); United States v. Sparkman, Cr.
No. 99-30, 2008 WL 2787415, at *1 (E.D. Ky. July 12, 2000)
(following conviction for vote- buying in violation of 52 U.S.C.
§ 10307(c) and lying to the FBI in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001,
sentence of twenty-four months’ imprisonment calculated on a
base offense level of twelve under § 2H2.1(a)(2), a three-level
enhancement for leadership role under § 3B1.1(b), and two-level
enhancement for obstruction of justice under § 3C1.1(b), for a
total offense level of seventeen); United States v. Boards, Cr. No.
176
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