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[ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
# Getting Paid to Vote: So Much Ballot Box Buffoonery
August 18 2014
Written by Ellen Alperstein.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
LA OBSERVED-A friend of mine in grade school was a good student who regularly brought home report cards bearing As and Bs. After each term, she'd proudly announce how much she'd made for her efforts -- her parents rewarded her with a dollar for every A and 50 cents for every B.
Had my family followed that practice, I too would have fattened my pink patent leather wallet. I was a good student too ... if you don't count arithmetic. I told my parents about my friend's scholastic windfall, and asked, "Why don't I get paid for getting As?"
"Because," my father replied, "you're expected to do well in school. You don't get special rewards for what you're expected to do."
Even to a kid, that made sense.
To this adult, what doesn't make sense is the LA Ethics Commission's recommendation to the City Council on how to encourage more people to vote: Pay them. Or, more accurately, woo them into the voting booth with the promise of a payout via lottery whose winners would be composed solely of people who vote. *[(Read the rest here.)](http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/08/ballot_box_buffoonery.php%20)*
-cw
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{module \[862\]} {module \[662\]}
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CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 67
Pub: Aug 19, 2014
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## Featured CityWatch Stories
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### [With National Implications, Corporate Landlords Take Aim at Three Pro-Rent Control Campaigns in California](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33413-with-national-implications-corporate-landlords-take-aim-at-three-pro-rent-control-campaigns-in-california)
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT - Corporate landlords and their high-powered lobbying group, the California Apartment Associat…
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THE NAVARRO REPORT - Last month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $12.5 million settlement over t…
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## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)
### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/18755-tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people)
### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/17690-anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)