Voting question.

[NeilTheCop]

What is the name of your state? NM
Just received a "Vote for me" card in the mail from an independent candidate running for congress.
On the card it gives a web site with the heading, REGISTER TO WIN $1,000.
Flipping it over it reads; "Due to social distancing my campaign has created a sweep stake for registered voters in NM Congressional District 2. For an opportunity to win, you will need to sign my ballot petition and return the original to the address above"
Could this be construed as a form of bribery?

 

[Taxing Matters]

Could this be construed as a form of bribery?

Not bribery, but it's very likely illegal gaming and might violate state and federal campaign laws.

 

[quincy]

New Mexico’s Gaming Control Board seems to address your question in their “frequently asked questions:”

https://www.nmgcb.org/frequently-asked-questions.aspx

So ... did you sign the ballot petition?

 

[NeilTheCop]

Just one line from his manifesto put me off
"Develop a Labor Department and Labor Union joint effort to create a sponsored residency for undocumented workers and skilled labor visa system"
Any politician who advocates rewarding criminals will never get my vote

 

[quincy]

Okay. So, you do not intend to sign the petition.

You could send a letter to the candidate informing him that he is violating the law with his solicitation or you could send the card you received to the Gaming Board for review.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? NM
Just received a "Vote for me" card in the mail from an independent candidate running for congress.
On the card it gives a web site with the heading, REGISTER TO WIN $1,000.
Flipping it over it reads; "Due to social distancing my campaign has created a sweep stake for registered voters in NM Congressional District 2. For an opportunity to win, you will need to sign my ballot petition and return the original to the address above"
Could this be construed as a form of bribery?

That is an interesting question. I think it would boil down to whether or not the opportunity to possibly win some money in a sweepstakes, could be construed as something of sufficient value to make bribery a legitimate conclusion.

 

[quincy]

That is an interesting question. I think it would boil down to whether or not the opportunity to possibly win some money in a sweepstakes, could be construed as something of sufficient value to make bribery a legitimate conclusion.

If you read the information from the link, you would learn that what the candidate is doing is illegal. But it is not bribery.

New Mexico Bribery:
https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2019/chapter-30/article-24/

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2019/chapter-30/article-24/section-30-24-2/

 

[Taxing Matters]

That is an interesting question. I think it would boil down to whether or not the opportunity to possibly win some money in a sweepstakes, could be construed as something of sufficient value to make bribery a legitimate conclusion.

It isn't bribery. NM has 4 bribery crimes. See Chapter 30, Article 24 of the NM statutes. Two relate to bribery of a public official. The first makes it illegal for a person to give something of value to a public official in exchange for the official taking (or not taking) some action in his/her official capacity. The second crime is where the public official solicits such a bribe from a person. The other two are similar but relate to a witness in a legal proceeding rather than a public official. We don't have a public official being paid for some official act or soliciting payment for some official act in this instance.

Federal law has a similar, although slightly more extensive, set of bribery statutes, covering bribery or solicitation of federal government officials, witnesses, financial institution officials, and bribery in sporting contests. See Title 18, Chapter 11 of the U.S. Code. But again, nothing in those bribery statutes covers this.

What we have is a candidate for office (and thus not yet a public official) offering a raffle for people signing his petition to get on the ballot. Moreover the candidate is not getting paid for some official act nor soliciting payment for some official act. He's the one offering something of value, not getting it. So neither element of the crimes is satisfied here — no public official, and no payment to or solicitation by the public official for an offiical act.

As quincy and I both noted, it would appear to violate NM gaming law. It might also violate election law if this raffle would be construed as buying votes. But it is not bribery.

 

[quincy]

I don’t think this New Mexico candidate is off to a very good start with his campaign.

 

[NeilTheCop]

I don’t think this New Mexico candidate is off to a very good start with his campaign.

Showing from the start that he's open to underhanded dealings would make him a front runner

 

[quincy]

Showing from the start that he's open to underhanded dealings would make him a front runner

Haha. I admit I originally was going to say something similar.