RICHMOND — Private detectives have started using GPS tracking devices to follow political candidates’ movements, says Del. Kathy Byron, and she is proposing legislation to make the practice a misdemeanor.
Even though people may be running for public office, “we are still entitled to some privacy,” Byron, R-Campbell County, said in describing HB 2320, titled “Unauthorized use of electronic tracking device for opposition research.”
It has been common practice for several years for candidates to send aides known as “trackers” with video cameras to record their opponents’ campaign speeches and press conferences.
The video practice has produced some memorable YouTube clips in Virginia politics, including Republican George Allen’s “macaca moment” in 2006 and Democrat Creigh Deeds’ calling a reporter “young lady” in 2009.
Byron, a Republican legislator for 14 years, said “we found out” that electronic spying has grown to include GPS tracking by private investigators, and it isn’t limited to campaign appearances.
The proposed legislation says: “A person who installs or places an electronic tracking device in or on a vehicle ... with the intent to track the location, movements, conduct, or activities of a person who is a member of any political party or political organization for use in opposition research is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.”
Class 3 misdemeanors can carry fines up to $500.
The legislation explains that “opposition research” is “the gathering of information related to a person’s activities to be publicly disclosed in any manner during a political campaign or for any other politically oriented purpose.”
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