Last week, the Appleton, WI city attorney ruled that doughnuts – at least those provided by candidates to poll workers – were pastries non grata in city elections:
City Attorney Jim Walsh ruled on the sticky situation last week. In February, a conservative civic group cried foul over the pastries that are traditionally delivered to election poll workers as a thank you from elected officials. “We determined that there was no illegal activity, and there was no unethical activity,” Walsh said Thursday. “But because the state Government Accountability Board recommends only the clerk provide food, we suggested to the council we don’t do this anymore.”
At first glance, this dispute appears good for a chuckle, but the issues behind it are (believe it or not!) very serious. Many states and localities have detailed statutes in place regarding rewarding anyone for participating in the voting process; the most obvious of these is vote-buying, but in recent years we have seen concerns related to offers of free ice cream, coffee or other rewards to anyone sporting an “I Voted” sticker.
The problem is that these laws are broad enough – and concerns about vote-buying strong enough – that other, seemingly more innocuous activities raise eyebrows as well. In some communities, bake sales by students or other community groups have been subjected to increased scrutiny because of concerns that sponsoring organizations could use them to violate the ban on electioneering at the polls. The issue in Appleton’s “doughnut-gate” is even more attenuated – gifts by candidates to election workers on Election Day – but the same concerns apply. Indeed, in issuing its ruling the city cited a state ruling that the 2008 Obama campaign could not provide box lunches to pollworkers in Milwaukee.
Full Article: Appleton’s Doughnut Controversy: Even Little Things Get Big Scrutiny – Election Academy.