Kansas Orders Group to Stop Offering Gift Cards for Votes in Election Bribery Case
Information disclosed on November 1 shows that Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sent a cease-and-desist letter on October 31 to the canvassing group Bluestem Kansas, ordering it to immediately stop offering voters incentives tied to voting in the November 3 general election. The case began when a Kansas voter reported that a canvasser identifying himself as working for the group offered him a $5 gift card.
In the letter, Kobach's office demanded that the group stop all offers of cash, gift cards or other incentives tied to voting, and preserve all records related to its canvassing operations. Kansas law classifies offering something of value in exchange for voting as election bribery, a severity level 7 nonperson felony; federal law likewise prohibits paying voters in elections involving federal candidates.
Kobach's office urged any voter who received a similar offer of cash or gift cards to call the attorney general's office at 785-296-2215. The allegations have not been adjudicated in court, and Kobach's announcement did not identify any criminal charges against the group or its canvassers.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于 Topeka 的堪萨斯州议会大厦（资料图）。w_lemay摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / The Kansas State Capitol in Topeka (file photo). Photo by w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
