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Election lawsuit claims Universal Income "a bribe for votes"

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Brictoria
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30 Nov 2021, 7:56 pm

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Democratic Florida congressional candidate who lost a special election primary by five votes has filed two lawsuits asking that the result be thrown out, alleging his opponent’s support of a universal income plan amounted to bribing voters.

[...]

In the lawsuits, filed jointly on Thanksgiving Eve in Palm Beach and Broward County circuit courts, Holness pointed to several campaign fliers and billboards where Cherfilus-McCormick touted her support for the “People’s Prosperity Plan.” It calls for the federal government to pay $1,000 monthly to every adult who makes less than $75,000 annually. While some progressive Democrats in Congress have supported such plans, there is no chance one would pass in the foreseeable future.

Holness, a Broward County commissioner, called Cherfilus-McCormick’s support “a gimmick designed only to motivate people to vote for her.”

“The ‘plan’ is intended to offer false hope to underserved communities with the intention and purpose of procuring votes,” Holness’ attorneys wrote. They said some district voters told elections officials they had cast ballots for Cherfilus-McCormick and wanted information on how to claim their $1,000.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/elections-lawsuits-florida-fort-lauderdale-special-elections-3b0d9b0b3eb4eb26fdcd4520190aa5da



Dox47
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30 Nov 2021, 7:59 pm

That's extra funny coming from a Democrat; are they sure they understand how politics works?


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Brictoria
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30 Nov 2021, 9:06 pm

Dox47 wrote:
That's extra funny coming from a Democrat; are they sure they understand how politics works?


Had you considered the possible precedent it would set if they win on the case? It could potentially open anyone using "Universal Income" as a part of their platform to charges of bribing voters, and at the very least would legitimise those bribery assertions being aimed at them.



roronoa79
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30 Nov 2021, 9:17 pm

Offering voters a policy which they believe will benefit them is not a bribe.

By that logic, basically any campaign promise could be construed as a 'bribe':
Offer infrastructure projects? Bribe!
Offer welfare services? Bribe!
Offer tax cuts? Bribe!
Offer to reduce crime? Bribe!
Offer to subsidize farmers? Bribe!
Offer to increase the minimum wage? Bribe!

If Cherfilus-McCormick was personally paying those voters to vote for her in cash, then that might be a bribe. But she isn't, so it isn't.


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DW_a_mom
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01 Dec 2021, 4:27 am

I will be disappointed if he prevails.


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cyberdad
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01 Dec 2021, 4:31 am

Wasn't Andrew Yang trying to sell a basic universal income?



DW_a_mom
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01 Dec 2021, 4:43 am

cyberdad wrote:
Wasn't Andrew Yang trying to sell a basic universal income?


Yes, although I don't know if "sell" is the right word. He proposed it as a plan idea.


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01 Dec 2021, 4:53 am

As stupid as universal basic income is, a lawsuit like this is even more stupid.



Dox47
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01 Dec 2021, 5:23 am

Brictoria wrote:
Had you considered the possible precedent it would set if they win on the case? It could potentially open anyone using "Universal Income" as a part of their platform to charges of bribing voters, and at the very least would legitimise those bribery assertions being aimed at them.


They won't win, as another poster pointed out, many policies on both sides could be described as bribing voters under that framework.


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Matrix Glitch
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01 Dec 2021, 8:31 am

cyberdad wrote:
Wasn't Andrew Yang trying to sell a basic universal income?


How much was he charging?



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01 Dec 2021, 8:33 am

Dox47 wrote:
Brictoria wrote:
Had you considered the possible precedent it would set if they win on the case? It could potentially open anyone using "Universal Income" as a part of their platform to charges of bribing voters, and at the very least would legitimise those bribery assertions being aimed at them.


They won't win, as another poster pointed out, many policies on both sides could be described as bribing voters under that framework.


I'm going to sue over being bribed with MAGA. Even the hat was a bribe. :x



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01 Dec 2021, 9:04 am

Every campaign promise is a bribe, no matter who makes it.



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01 Dec 2021, 3:59 pm

The Democrat saying it was probably a Manchin-Sinema type.

As we all know, the GOP opposes UBI and welfare because POC benefit from it. (they like to accuse minorities of being lazy)


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Brictoria
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01 Dec 2021, 8:48 pm

Dox47 wrote:
Brictoria wrote:
Had you considered the possible precedent it would set if they win on the case? It could potentially open anyone using "Universal Income" as a part of their platform to charges of bribing voters, and at the very least would legitimise those bribery assertions being aimed at them.


They won't win, as another poster pointed out, many policies on both sides could be described as bribing voters under that framework.


Oh, I'm not expecting them to win on that argument (almost every promise and\or policy put forward by a politician is designed to encourage\"bribe" people to vote for the person\party with the promise of a "reward" at some time in the future) - my comment was more a case of the hypothetical unintended consequence of the case somehow winning (although, even should the case succeeed, it doesn't mean that the judgment will endorse the "bribe" argument, and could very well include wording indicating that such policies do not constitute any form of bribery).

Off Topic
It certainly says something about some people's education around, and understanding of, the electoral (and legislative) system that they supposedly thought the support for universal income put forward by a candidate meant that they would get the money immediately following voting for that person, as the article suggests occurred.



Brictoria
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01 Dec 2021, 9:36 pm

Tim_Tex wrote:
The Democrat saying it was probably a Manchin-Sinema type.

As we all know, the GOP opposes UBI and welfare because POC benefit from it. (they like to accuse minorities of being lazy)


From what I have seen, the GOP support (or lack thereof) for the policy has no relationship to the intended beneficiaries race, instead being focussed on the principle of forceably taking money from portions of the population (taxation), compared to indivduals voluntarily providing money (charity):
Quote:
Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21kristof.html?hp (I couldn't find any more recent articles\studies when doing a brief search)

The fact that some people focus the discussion regarding the benefits\aim of "universal income" around a recipient's "race" (regardless of individual need), over their need (regardless of individual race) suggests it is those doing this who are the people that believe that "POC" are lazy, not the GOP - There are many people of all races (if considered by number of individuals, rather than percentage of people of any given "race", there would almost certainly be more "white" people who would benefit from this policy than "POC") who could benefit from the policy, and making it a "POC" Vs. "non POC" issue shows a lack of understanding of the subject, as well as alienating a number of potential supporters of the policy.

As a side note (from the article linked above), it is those who are more likely to benefit from these policies (rather than those who commonly endorse them) who are more freely (voluntarily) generous with their money:
Quote:
Of course, given the economic pinch these days, charity isn’t on the top of anyone’s agenda. Yet the financial ability to contribute to charity, and the willingness to do so, are strikingly unrelated. Amazingly, the working poor, who have the least resources, somehow manage to be more generous as a percentage of income than the middle class.