Miscellaneous

One Last Gasp

By Anne Skove, Esq.

We hope this will be our last election-tagged entry for some time, but somehow we suspect someone has something up their collective sleeves. But hope wins the day, so here goes...

• Is it OK to drink on Election Day? Depends on where you are and who's buying. Seven states bar (in different ways) the sale of alcohol on Election Day. As you may have guessed, Illinois is not one of them. See Seven States Still Force Prohibition-era Bans on Election Day Alcohol Sales, MarketWatch (October 31, 2008). Thanks to Ryan for telling us this even existed!


• Is it OK to use student comments from Ratemyprofessors.com against your opponent? Apparently so. What your students can tell prospective voters, though, is debatable. Is there any connection between professorial performance and elected official readiness? Cincinnati council member John Pepper gives this tactic, which one candidate for clerk of courts is using against another, the "Least Credible Reference Award." See The Baddies: Award-Winning Local Political Ads, John Pepper, Pep Talk (November 1, 2008).


• Trying to Video Your Vote? Hope you're not in the Bluegrass State, where taking a camera into the polls is illegal. See Kentucky Assails PBS-YouTube Video Vote Project, Ryan Alessi, Lexington Herald-Leader (October 18, 2008). Also, think about whether bringing a camera and filming every darn thing you do is a good idea in the long run.


• Is free coffee ever a bad idea? Sure, in two cases: one, when it tastes like motor oil (yes we're talking to you, NCSC!). Two, when it violates election law. Washington state says it does. We sure hope this is a hoax! No coffee here, no alcohol there, what's this world coming to? See Starbucks Free Java Violates Election Law, State Says (Update1), Duane D. Stanford, On the Economy (November 3, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on November 03, 2008 (boomark / email).