To: CC:

Kimberly Dubois, Supervisor of Elections

Cortez Whatley, Student Body President Shane Juntunen, Elections Advisor Michael Preston, SGA Advisor Oluwafunlola Falade, Public Relations Coordinator Anthony King, Speaker of the Senate Dalya Bordman, Chief Justice
Ryan Kelly II, Attorney General May 3, 2013 Opinion on Cajolery and Inducements While Voting

From: Date: Subject:

I, Attorney General Kelly, in accordance with the Constitution and the Statutes of the Student Body of the University of Central Florida, hereby issue the following opinion to the Supervisor of Elections, and all other interested parties: You have asked whether the act of talking to candidates telling and/or reminding them who to vote for while they have their ballot open, is an open violation of Election Statute 604.6, Section F: No individual shall coerce or otherwise induce another while they are in the process of filling out their ballot by any physical or electronic means. The statute itself, grammatically speaking, is open to an interpretation where such behavior would not necessarily be proscribed, and another where it would incontrovertibly. Nonetheless, adhering strictly to the standards of Edited American English as well as the Blacks Law Dictionary definition of inducement The act or process of enticing or persuading another person to take a certain course of action it is the official opinion of this office that the act of speaking to candidates for the purpose of influencing their decision, while they are filling out their ballot, is a violation of the Election Statutes. I. The critical contention within Election Statute 604.6, Section F is its grammatical ambiguity; which is to say, it has more than one interpretation, depending on how you read the sentence. The prepositional phrase by any physical or electronic means modifies one of two structures within the sentence: One is the expanded verb shall coerce or otherwise induce. The other is the noun phrase the process of filling out their ballot. And with these two possibilities, we reach the dispositive question of the text; namely, is by any physical or electronic means an adverbial clause (modifying the aforementioned verb) or adjectival (modifying the aforementioned noun phrase)? Based on the conventions of Edited American English that a closing adverbial phrase open to multiple meanings should be bounded off by a comma this language should be construed to forbid any and all coercions or inducements directed at a voter while they are attempting to fill out their ballot, be that a physical or electronic ballot. II. An ancillary question in this matter is whether or not telling (even reminding) a candidate who to vote for verbally, while they are in the process of voting, is a violation of the Election Statutes. In any given

situation, it would be inappropriate for a candidate or a member of their supporting body to importune a student, as they are making their selection, to vote for them. Such behavior, primarily, stands athwart to common courtesy. However, in addition, Blacks Law Dictionary defines inducement (the noun form of induce) as the act or process of enticing or persuading another person to take a certain course of action. Persuasion, as is obvious, may pertain to oral supplications and/or commands (vote for me, please vote for me, dont forget to vote [name of ticket here]). Therefore, given this definition and the foregoing grammatical analysis, this office reasonably concludes, and correspondingly opines, that speaking to a candidate while their ballot is open, for the purpose of influencing their decision, is indeed an elections violation. III. Based on the confusion surrounding the interpretation of this statute, this office also recommends that the Election Commission, in conjunction with the Senate Elections and Appointments Committee, revise Election Statute 604.6, Section F to reflect its intended meaning unambiguously. As the statute stands currently, so too does this Attorney General opinion.

_________________________ Ryan S. Kelly II Attorney General University of Central Florida