Whoops: Bill Clinton May Have Broken Election Rules

He entered polling sites despite rule against soliciting votes
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2016 11:27 AM CST
Whoops: Bill Clinton May Have Broken Election Rules
Bill Clinton appears at a campaign stop in New Bedford, Mass.   (Peter Pereira/Standard Times via AP)

Hours before his wife was named the Massachusetts primary winner on Super Tuesday, apparent political novice Bill Clinton strolled into a polling station in Boston. Standing with Mayor Marty Walsh at the Holy Name Parish School, Clinton greeted poll staff and voters and even kissed an elderly woman on the head, reports Boston.com. When one woman asked to take a photo with him, he responded, "as long as we're not violating any election laws," reports MassLive.com. He might have done just that. The office of Massachusetts' Secretary of State William Galvin notes Hillary Clinton's campaign had to be "reminded" that state election rules bar the solicitation of a vote within 150 feet of a polling location.

The former president had also entered a polling station in Newton, reports the Boston Globe. When asked if his presence alone was a violation, a rep said, "He's a well-known person and he's a spouse of a candidate. That should answer the question." Galvin, however, says Clinton was permitted in polling stations as long as he didn't solicit votes. "We just took the extra precaution of telling them because this is not a usual occurrence," he tells the New York Times. Galvin adds Clinton is "not from here so he may not know" the rules, noting penalties are only dished out in cases of "absolute disobedience," per CBS Boston. A rep for Walsh says he and Clinton "were not campaigning inside the polling location." (More Election 2016 stories.)

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