Los Angeles is considering turning voting ballots into lottery tickets. With fewer than a fourth of voters showing up for recent local elections, the city's Ethics Commission voted to recommend that the City Council consider a cash-prize drawing as an incentive to vote, AP reported. Commission President Nathan Hochman said a pilot program should be used first to find out the number and size of prizes that would bump up turnout. "Maybe it's $25,000 maybe it's $50,000," Hochman said, according to the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/1uV1Ekw ). "That's where the pilot program comes in." The Thursday vote was unanimous. The issue now moves to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee headed by City Council President Herb Wesson, who said he's intrigued by the idea but wants to hear what neighborhood councils and "legal beagles" think. It wasn't immediately clear whether there was any precedent in other cities or states for such a move, which brings with it questions of propriety and legality. Federal law prohibits payment for voting, but Ethics Commissioner Jessica Levinson, who is also an attorney and law school professor, says that statute wouldn't apply to elections without federal races on the ballot. -- SPA 22:17 LOCAL TIME 19:17 GMT تغريد
