[EL] LEGAL?? Fwd: BYOB (Bring Your Own Ballot) Mailbox Party at 8 th and Broadway This Monday
David A. Holtzman
David at HoltzmanLaw.com
Thu Feb 5 19:26:51 PST 2015
Thank you, [EL].
My computer tells me I looked at Rick's article in Nov. of 2012, but I
should have paid closer attention to footnote 11 (paying voters is a
particularly popular practice in California).
It's interesting that the practice may become illegal in Los Angeles
city elections due to something on the ballot now. That's a charter
amendment which would switch the regular city elections to June and, if
there is no majority winner in June, November of even-numbered years
(from March-May of odd-numbered years), starting in 2020.
The basic idea is to ride the anticipated turnout wave of federal, state
and county elections. (On top of that, however, incumbent City Council
members included 1-1/2 year extensions on their next terms, instead of
simply slipping the term turnover timeframe backwards by 1/2 year.)
While if the amendment passes, L.A. city elections could continue to be
administered separately by city staff, albeit concurrently with federal,
state and county elections conducted by the county, it is likely that
the city would eventually have its elections consolidated with those
other elections, which would make it illegal under federal law (42
U.S.C. § 1973i(c)) to pay people (or take pay) to vote in L.A. city
elections. After all, a point the charter amendment's supporters cite
in its favor is cost-cutting efficiency. (From the LWV Voter Guide:
"L.A. could potentially save millions of dollars that could better be
spent on schools, parks, libraries and fixing our roads to reduce
traffic." Which are all things which all [EL] members would most
certainly agree are more important to spend money on than democracy.)
So I guess people should go out and get their free Huizar party drinks
while they still can. If Nico Rusconi and Jon Blanchard of BLVD745 (who
are hosting the party) spend more than their Huizar campaign
contribution maximums on the drinks, etc., that's not the voters'
problem! The party is clearly a campaign event, which makes me wonder
if Huizar has to report the value of the liquor Nico Rusconi and Jon
Blanchard of BLVD745 pour, or the amount they would normally charge
customers for the drinks... but I suppose that's a matter for another
e-mail chain.
:-) dah
On 2/5/2015 8:27 AM, John Tanner wrote:
> Ah!
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 5, 2015, at 11:16 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu
> <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>> wrote:
>
>> The full section
>> <http://law.onecle.com/california/elections/18521.html> only makes it
>> illegal to for for or against a particular candidate or measure (my
>> emphasis):
>>
>> 18521. A person shall not directly or through any other person
>> receive, agree, or contract for, before, during or after an election,
>> any money, gift, loan, or other valuable consideration, office,
>> place, or employment for himself or any other person because he or
>> any other person:
>> (a) Voted, agreed to vote, refrained from voting, or agreed to
>> refrain from voting*for any particular person or measure.*
>> (b) Remained away from the polls.
>> (c) Refrained or agreed to refrain from voting.
>> (d) Induced any other person to:
>> (1) Remain away from the polls.
>> (2) Refrain from voting.
>> (3) Vote or refrain from voting for any particular person or
>> measure.
>> Any person violating this section is punishable by imprisonment
>> pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16
>> months or two or three years.
>>
>>
>> On 2/5/2015 8:06 AM, John Tanner wrote:
>>> This is what I read --
>>> 18521. A person shall not directly or through any other person
>>> receive, agree, or contract for, before, during or after an election,
>>> any money, gift, loan, or other valuable consideration, office,
>>> place, or employment for himself or any other person because he or
>>> any other person:
>>> (a) Voted, agreed to vote,
>>>
>>>> On Feb 5, 2015, at 10:46 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>>> <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I don't think that's correct---at least not how this has been
>>>> interpreted in CA.
>>>>
>>>> On 2/5/2015 7:37 AM, John Tanner wrote:
>>>>> What seemed odd to me is that the person accepting money can be
>>>>> prosecuted but not the person giving the money — at least as I
>>>>> skimmed the code. Prosecuting poor folks and not rich folks.
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Feb 5, 2015, at 10:31 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>>>>> <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Payments for turnout (but not for outcomes) are indeed legal in
>>>>>> California, but not if federal candidates are on the ballot. Some
>>>>>> other states have similar rules. Here's an article of mine
>>>>>> analyzing various approaches to prevent vote buying:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=257564
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2/5/2015 7:24 AM, John Tanner wrote:
>>>>>>> It looks as if an offer of a thing of value (I presume the wrist
>>>>>>> band gets you free drinks at the party) in return for voting
>>>>>>> (depositing your mail ballot). It doesn’t look as if you have
>>>>>>> to show for whom you vote. A quick look at the CA code seems to
>>>>>>> show that it is illegal to receive a thing of value for voting
>>>>>>> but not to offer value for voting: the offer of $ or whatever
>>>>>>> must be to vote for a particular person. That seems strange and
>>>>>>> wrongheaded to me.
>>>>>>>> On Feb 5, 2015, at 12:03 AM, David A. Holtzman
>>>>>>>> <David at holtzmanlaw.com <mailto:David at holtzmanlaw.com>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hello EL,
>>>>>>>> Voting has started in several city elections in L.A. County.
>>>>>>>> Please see underlined "exclusive wristband" text below (my
>>>>>>>> underlining).
>>>>>>>> Opinions?
>>>>>>>> - dah
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> -------- Forwarded Message --------
>>>>>>>> Subject: BYOB (Bring Your Own Ballot) Mailbox Party at 8 th
>>>>>>>> and Broadway This Monday
>>>>>>>> Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:06:06 +0000
>>>>>>>> From: José Huizar<jose at josehuizar2015.com>
>>>>>>>> To: dh at lavotefire.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> *Pump Up the Vote
>>>>>>>> @ The Ace Hotel
>>>>>>>> hosted by BLVD745*
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Calling all DTLA Jose Huizar Permanent Absentee Voters! You're
>>>>>>>> going to drop you ballot in the mail anyway, why not do it and
>>>>>>>> meet up with like-minded #TeamHuizar supporters and enjoy an
>>>>>>>> evening at the Ace Hotel after you put your ballot in the
>>>>>>>> mailbox!_Meet us__at the mailbox on the __*corner of 8th and
>>>>>>>> Broadway*__ on __*Monday, Feb 9th at 5:00 pm*__ to turn in your
>>>>>>>> Mail Ballot and get an exclusive wristband to join us at the
>>>>>>>> after party!_
>>>>>>>> THANK YOU for doing your civic duty!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The after party will be*@ the Ace Hotel Rooftop*hosted by Nico
>>>>>>>> Rusconi and Jon Blanchard of BLVD745.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Come meet*Councilmember José Huizar*@ the Ace and celebrate the
>>>>>>>> future of Downtown Los Angeles!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Still need to*register to vote*? No problem, RSVP and come to
>>>>>>>> the After Party where #TeamHuizar will help you register!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> RSVPtojosehuizar2015 at gmail.com
>>>>>>>> or clickHERE
>>>>>>>> <http://www.josehuizar2015.com/pump_up_the_vote?e=8b29b06c9b168ebf406e003a59e5775a&utm_source=josehuizar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ace_event_dtla&n=1>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> ACE_FLYER_INVITE_FINAL-011.jpg
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Paid for by Huizar for L.A. City Council 2015 | FPPC ID#: 1360239
>>>>>>>> 777 S. Figueroa, Suite 4050 LA, CA 90017
>>>>>>>> Additional information available at ethics.lacity.org
>>>>>>>> <http://www.josehuizar2015.com/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fethics.lacity.org%2F&utm_campaign=ace_event_dtla&n=2&e=8b29b06c9b168ebf406e003a59e5775a&utm_source=josehuizar&utm_medium=email>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> http://www.josehuizar2015.com/
>>>>>>>> <http://www.josehuizar2015.com/?e=8b29b06c9b168ebf406e003a59e5775a&utm_source=josehuizar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ace_event_dtla&n=3>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Jose Huizar for City Council · United States
>>>>>>>> This email was sent todh at lavotefire.org
>>>>>>>> <x-msg://3/dh@lavotefire.org>. To stop receiving emails,[].
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Created withNationBuilder
>>>>>>>> <http://www.josehuizar2015.com/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnationbuilder.com&utm_campaign=ace_event_dtla&n=5&e=8b29b06c9b168ebf406e003a59e5775a&utm_source=josehuizar&utm_medium=email>,
>>>>>>>> the essential toolkit for leaders.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Rick Hasen
>>>>>> Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
>>>>>> UC Irvine School of Law
>>>>>> 401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
>>>>>> Irvine, CA 92697-8000
>>>>>> 949.824.3072 - office
>>>>>> 949.824.0495 - fax
>>>>>> rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>>>>> hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
>>>>>> http://electionlawblog.org
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Law-election mailing list
>>>>>> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
>>>>>> <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
>>>>>> http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Rick Hasen
>>>> Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
>>>> UC Irvine School of Law
>>>> 401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
>>>> Irvine, CA 92697-8000
>>>> 949.824.3072 - office
>>>> 949.824.0495 - fax
>>>> rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>>> hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
>>>> http://electionlawblog.org
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Rick Hasen
>> Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
>> UC Irvine School of Law
>> 401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
>> Irvine, CA 92697-8000
>> 949.824.3072 - office
>> 949.824.0495 - fax
>> rhasen at law.uci.edu
>> hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
>> http://electionlawblog.org
>
>
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--
David A. Holtzman, M.P.H., J.D.
david at holtzmanlaw.com
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