[EL] Legality of Voting Incentives

Fri Oct 5 12:11:09 PDT 2012

>From my dealings with teachers on this through the years it has been clear
that their purpose is to engage the students in the political process. We
have had some pretty terrific "volunteers" as a result of these actions. I
am aware that teachers also give credit for other kinds of community service
that is not related to campaigns.

Larry

From: Primo, David [mailto:david.primo at rochester.edu] 
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 12:07 PM
To: larrylevine at earthlink.net; John Tanner; Denise Lieberman
Cc: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: RE: [EL] Legality of Voting Incentives

Interesting.  I wonder what would happen if we asked those teachers whether
they would consider expanding the credit to giving a campaign contribution.
(Put aside the legal issues in doing so.)  It would be an experiment in
whether we view identical economic activities (i.e., contributing $1 of
money is nearly the same as contributing $1 of labor, perhaps adjusting the
exchange rate to account for the fact that money is fungible) differently
depending on how they fit into our views about the proper role of citizens
in the political process.

  _____  

From: Larry Levine [mailto:larrylevine at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 2:47 PM
To: 'John Tanner'; 'Denise Lieberman'
Cc: law-election at uci.edu; Primo, David
Subject: RE: [EL] Legality of Voting Incentives

Many teachers offer credit for volunteering in a campaign without dictating
which campaign or which office.

Larry

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of John
Tanner
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 11:27 AM
To: Denise Lieberman
Cc: law-election at uci.edu; Primo, David
Subject: Re: [EL] Legality of Voting Incentives

I've done that as a requirement

On Fri, Oct 5, 2012 at 12:13 PM, Denise Lieberman
<dlieberman at advancementproject.org> wrote:

I think that's right.

But that doesn't mean you can't offer incentives for participating in other
ways in the elections process. I offer my students credit if they sign up to
work as election judges, poll workers or non-partisan observers on Election
Day.

Denise Lieberman, Senior Attorney
Advancement Project
1220 L Street NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20005
Cell: (314) 780-1833 <tel:%28314%29%20780-1833> 
dlieberman at advancementproject.org
www.advancementproject.org

On Oct 5, 2012, at 10:32 AM, Primo, David wrote:

> Thanks, everyone, for the replies.
>
> Working from John's e-mail and Election Law at Moritz,
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/ebook/part3/campaign_getout02.html, it
seems that at least it is at least plausible that offering extra credit is
an illegal inducement.  I am not sure that the group nature of the exercise
solves the problem from a legal perspective.
>
> I have found at least one instance-an Ohio Atty. Gen. opinion-where extra
credit is explicitly treated as something of value and illegal to use as an
inducement for voting.  See here:
>
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/OhioAttorneyGeneral/files/0c/0ce60a7d-f97
9-4504-b712-c6542b6f65d7.pdf.
>
> So, I think the take-away is that this idea is ill-advised, at best, and
very likely illegal.
>
> 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
> ________________________________
> From: John Tanner [mailto:john.k.tanner at gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, October 05, 2012 10:04 AM
> To: Steve Kolbert
> Cc: Primo, David; law-election at uci.edu
> Subject: Re: [EL] Legality of Voting Incentives
>
> The better federal statute is 42 USC 1973i(c), which prohibits giving
anything of monetary value as in inducement to vote.  The question is
whether a higher grade in a course has monetary value.  Personally, I think
it would be an easy sell to jury.
>
> The general offer to the class gets you - and the students - into 18 USC
371 territory,

> On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 12:12 PM, Steve Kolbert
<steve.kolbert at gmail.com<mailto:steve.kolbert at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> With regard to 18 USC 597 (the relevant statute covering inducements in
federal elections), the prohibition covers only "expenditures" as an
inducement. I don't imagine that providing extra credit in a college class
qualifies as an "expenditure."
>
> There may be other statutes, particularly in state law, that cover
inducements more broadly. Perhaps someone on the list knows?
>
> Steve Kolbert

> (202) 422-2588 <tel:%28202%29%20422-2588> <tel:%28202%29%20422-2588>
> steve.kolbert at gmail.com<mailto:steve.kolbert at gmail.com>
> @Pronounce_the_T

> On Oct 4, 2012 12:01 PM, "Primo, David"
<david.primo at rochester.edu<mailto:david.primo at rochester.edu>> wrote:
> 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<tel:585.273.4779>
> Fax:  585.271.1616<tel:585.271.1616>
> david.primo at rochester.edu<http://rochester.edu>

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