# Free Gifts to Potential Voters **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030 "2019-07-13T17:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/1 "2019-07-13T17:08:31Z")
A candidate in an local election is offering free ice cream, but in order to be eligible to get the ice cream, at least one member of your family must be a registered voter. It’s being billed as a campaign launch and social event. I live in Bellevue, Washington. This sounds a little shady, like buying votes, but I was unable to locate anything other than laws pertaining to federal elections - not state or local elections. So my question is: is this legal? And if so, how is it different than just saying, “I’ll give you family $5 if one of you is a registered voter.”? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/2 "2019-07-13T17:27:50Z")
My local supervisor (city council member) gave out oven hot pads with his name printed on them, as he went door to door soliciting votes. I didn’t think anything about it, and it’s not why I voted for him (mainly it was because out of all the city candidates that have ever run for office, he’s the only one who bothered to go door to door personally in my district), and I still have it. Should I burn it? Should I report him for attempted bribery? Should I chill? I would be willing to bet that every jurisdiction from municipal and county on up has their own laws about this sort of thing. I imagine there is some threshold of value that has to be exceeded before it becomes problematic. But that is only surmise, perhaps not appropriate for the first response post in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/3 "2019-07-13T17:35:25Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Should I burn it? Should I report him for attempted bribery? Should I chill? It’s ok, I’m just asking. I would also imagine every jurisdiction has their own rules; that’s why I specifically stated where I was. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/4 "2019-07-13T20:40:25Z")
If you’re concerned about ice cream, then you probably won’t like that Andrew Yang, Democratic POTUS candidate, is giving some voters $1,000/month for a year ($12k) out of his own pockets. > **[2020 Democrat Andrew Yang is giving $1,000 a month to another voter](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2020-democrat-andrew-yang-is-giving-1000-a-month-to-another-voter.amp)** > > Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said Tuesday he has chosen another early voting state resident to pay $1,000 a month out of his own pocket, as part of his unconventional pitch for a “universal basic income” in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/5 "2019-07-13T21:25:54Z")
It’s not asking you to vote in a certain way, or even to register as a R/D. Buying votes is illegal, promoting voter registration likely isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/6 "2019-07-14T01:20:50Z")
I am a precinct inspector. **naita** is correct, at least in California. A candidate is not allowed to offer incentives to vote for him or her, nor even to vote. Around here, we have the famous Humboldt offer from one candidate for a free cup of Starbucks coffee for any voter showing up [there] with a “I have voted” sticker. Even though not suggesting voting a particular way, “Naughty naughty, cannot do,” said our County Recorder. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/7 "2019-07-14T01:37:15Z")
> [@ASGuy](#): > > I am a precinct inspector. **naita** is correct, at least in California. A candidate is not allowed to offer incentives to vote for him or her, nor even to vote. Around here, we have the famous Humboldt offer from one candidate for a free cup of Starbucks coffee for any voter showing up [there] with a “I have voted” sticker. Even though not suggesting voting a particular way, “Naughty naughty, cannot do,” said our County Recorder. But in this case it was inducement only to register. Is that too forbidden? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/8 "2019-07-14T06:08:43Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > But in this case it was inducement only to register. Is that too forbidden? I live in Southern California and see a bunch of local places offering free stuff or discounts for people showing up with “I voted” stickers. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/9 "2019-07-14T12:37:35Z")
Which candidate is this, if you don’t mind me asking? I live in Bellevue too. ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/10 "2019-07-14T20:37:51Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > Which candidate is this, if you don’t mind me asking? I live in Bellevue too. It is Holly Zhang; I saw it in the Bellevue Reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/11 "2019-07-14T21:24:34Z")
Here in Minnesota, the Campaign Finance Board has rules that candidates can offer the public only items of “nominal value”. Which they classify as something less than $5. It was triggered by a candidate filing a complaint that his opponent was giving out Twinkies to people. It works the other way, too – a voter can’t give gifts to a candidate. So if you invite a candidate to speak at your group’s dinner meeting, he has to pay for his own dinner. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-gifts-to-potential-voters/837030/12 "2019-07-15T02:22:13Z")
1. **OldGuy** : I do not know the rules with respect to voter registration. But my experience with our County Recorder says such inducements for _registration_ would be allowed, including indicating the party to register under. 2. **Asuka** : According to our Recorder, if a private business wants to offer incentives to vote, to vote for a specific candidate, or whatever else, they are entitled to do so. It falls under the category of electioneering. But persons whose name appears on the on the ballot are verboten.