Possible voting bounty in Athens County probed

Athens County authorities are investigating whether local Democratic Party officials illegally offered a $5 bounty to Ohio University students to bring friends to the polls yesterday.

[jason]

I really don't see what the problem is supposed to be here. Nobody offered anybody any money to vote. Nobody is claiming that they did. It appears that the Dems are scared to admit that they offered money to people to recruit OTHER people to vote, but I'm not sure why. That's pretty much the only thing armies of Republican and Democratic campaign staff get paid to do.

[well informed]

Please read the relevant statute from the Ohio Revised Code:

3599.02 Bribery - offenses concerning voters or voting.
No person shall before, during, or after any primary, general, or special election or convention solicit, request, demand, receive, or contract for any money, gift, loan, property, influence, position, employment, or other thing of value for that person ....or for another person....(emphasis supplied) for doing any of the following:

(A) Registering or refraining from registering to vote;

(B) Agreeing to register or to refrain from registering to vote;

(C) Agreeing to vote or to refrain from voting;

(D) Voting or refraining from voting at any primary, general, or special election or convention for a particular person, question, or issue;

(E) Registering or voting, or refraining from registering or voting, or voting or refraining from voting for a particular person, question, or issue.

Whoever violates this section is guilty of bribery, a felony of the fourth degree, and shall be disfranchised and excluded from holding any public office for five years immediately following such conviction.