Photo by Shannon Yazurlo

Photo by Shannon Yazurlo

Hey, we like voting as much as any other organization. Hell, some among this websites staff have even appeared in advertisements supporting the expansion of the District of Columbia’s voting rights.

But, as discussed last week, as awesome as voting is, one is not supposed to give out material rewards to people simply for exercising their franchise. It’s in the U.S. Code, and its been pointed out several times in recent elections by the California legal scholar Rick Hasen.

Apparently, not everyone heeded the lesson we tried to send California Tortilla and Z-Burger, which originally planned to give free tacos and hamburgers tomorrow to people who say they voted. Pound the Hill, a café on Capitol Hill, announced today on Twitter that tomorrow, any patron walking into its shop at 621 Pennsylvania Avenue SE would get a free cup of coffee.

Not so fast. Not to be schoolmarms, but we felt it necessary to point out that this would be an illegal act of electioneering.

Even though the shop did not specify any particular candidate, federal law clearly states:

Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Pound the Hill got the message.

Instead of requiring an “I Voted” embossment tomorrow, one may wear any sticker of any design. That sounds fine. Opening the offer to all stickers is equitable and democratic on the day when such an attitude matters most.

Also, we really didn’t feel like asking a law professor to weigh in on the legality of all stickers. Wear a sticker, get a coffee. That’s simple enough.

Filed Under: coffee, election day, election law, free food, pound the hill, rick hasen,