[EL] Legality of Voting Incentives

[Primo, David]

A question for the list:  I recall in 2008 Starbucks and other companies
were smacked down when they attempted to give free products on Election
Day to anybody who said that they voted, as they seemed to be running
afoul of federal laws regarding incentives for voting in federal
elections.  

 

But what about this real-world scenario that a colleague at another
school relayed:  A faculty member has a policy of awarding an entire
class extra credit if more than half of the class votes.  Is this an
illegal inducement?  Does it matter that the reward is not tied to
individual behavior but rather to collective behavior, so that you can
get the extra credit even if you choose to free ride?

 

Dave

 

David M. Primo

Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professor

Associate Professor of Political Science and Business Administration

Director of Graduate Studies, Political Science

University of Rochester

Harkness Hall 318 (Political Science Dept.)

Rochester, NY 14627-0146

585.273.4779

Fax:  585.271.1616

david.primo at rochester.edu

http://www.rochester.edu/College/PSC/primo

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20121004/a0a35b57/attachment.html>