Florida AG investigating Bloomberg effort to help ex-felons vote

[RandySF]

Link to tweet

?s=21

[mucifer]

1. So you can't pay someone's poll tax?

[Amishman]

2. I can see the trouble here

Bloomberg is a former presidential candidate and affiliated with a specific party.

Paying the fines is a huge financial windfall for the recipient. Because of that lasting gain, this isn't as simple as paying someone's poll tax.

[StarfishSaver]

10. No, it's not

Bloomberg isn't even giving the money to individuals. He's donating money to a non-profit that pays felons fines. The non-profit's work is perfectly legal - and funny thing... The state AG never complained about them.

And even if Bloomberg were giving money directly to them, that is also perfectly legal. He can do whatever he wants with his money (isn't that a big Republican talking point) and as long as he didn't condition the payment on a requirement that they actually vote, this is a gift and not a payment to vote and not in any way illegal.

If he were to give he money directly to them, that could be subject to a gift tax that HE would have to pay, not them. But since a person is allowed to give up to $15,000 to an individual before having to pay any gift tax, there'd be no tax consequences.

But as it is, he's simply making a donation to a non-profit charity and earmarking it for a specific purpose that the charity already does. It's legal as hell.

[Buckeyeblue]

3. Wouldn't it only be a crime if you got a promise of who they were going to vote for?

Bloomberg could say this is about voting rights and a law set up to deny them. I'm sure he has attorneys who vetted this.

[radius777]

4. Exactly. Bloomberg doesn't know who they'll vote for.

He's a political activist and donates to many causes, this being one of them.

But it shows us how the GOP thinks and how they suppress votes because they believe such people will vote Dem.

[OnDoutside]

6. Backed by $50bn !

[StarfishSaver]

8. Not exactly

It would still be a crime to pay someone to vote, regardless who they vote for.

But in this instance, these people aren't being paid to vote. They're fines are being paid so that they CAN vote. But there is no expectation or requirement that they actually vote - the fines will be paid with no strings attached whether they vote or not.

But Bloomberg isn't even paying the fines. He's raising and donating money to a non-profit organization that in turn pays the fines - as it has already been doing for some time.

This allegation is BS.

[DemsIn2020]

5. I'll be honest...

If they did this, we be going nuts. I can actually understand that this could look like a persuade for them to vote for Joe.

Also, wouldn’t they have to claim this on their 2020 taxes??

[StarfishSaver]

9. Bloomberg isn't paying anyone's fines

He's donating money to a non-profit organization that pays fines for former felons.

This is a big nothingburger, but nothing is all the Republicans have.

[Cicada]

7. Paying someone to vote is illegal, but is paying so they CAN vote illegal?

It is illegal to pay someone to vote even if there is no requirement that they vote for a specific candidate. But it doesn’t matter. These people can vote, that’s what matters. And in a jury of 12 at least one will say wtf? This is insane, not guilty.

[StarfishSaver]

11. He's not paying them to vote. He's making it possible for them to vote. Different

The gift is not conditioned on their actually voting and they get it even if they don't vote, so it's perfectly legal.

[Cicada]

12. The Florida state attorney for Palm Beach county confirms your legal opinion

https://mobile.twitter.com/i/web/status/1308875072313217024

[mfcorey1]

13. So, is paying people through Craig's list to attend a specific candidate's

rally breaking the law? I am asking for the GOP.