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Friday, April 15, 2016

Could Republican Convention delegates be bought? Legally, maybe

Washington (CNN)Buying votes is illegal. But, it turns out, buying delegates might not be.

This summer's Republican National Convention is shaping up to be an all-out brawl for every delegate's vote -- and legally, that could mean plying some of them with gifts, experts say.

There are federal and state laws prohibiting bribery of elected officials -- and restrictions on campaigns themselves -- but there isn't much on the books governing what private citizens serving as delegates at their parties' conventions can take in exchange for their votes on a nominating ballot. And in a fight between Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and perhaps an alternative not currently in the race, every delegate vote will matter.

"I think the legal term is s*** show," said Ken Gross, an election law specialist at Skadden and former associate general counsel of the Federal Election Commission. "I think it's going to be a circus, to say the least."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Welp, that's the only way Trump could do it.