As a sort of gesture of goodwill, Starbucks will be offering anyone who voted today a free tall coffee. Against my better judgement, I get Starbucks all the time, and I still don't know the difference in the way they name their coffee sizes. Tall, Venti... just give me a medium, black coffee please. Anyhow, it figures that the one day I won't be anywhere near a Starbucks, they would choose to give away free coffee. There really aren't any Starbucks in my area anyway-- in fact there aren't many (any) real coffee shops in the area at all! Thank God for Wawa, I guess.The legality of this publicity stunt has been called into question, as it's seen as some sort of bribe for voting. But it's not based on voting for any one candidate, so I don't see any harm in the deal-- other than the hair that Starbucks coffee will put on your chest. (Read:It's very strong coffee.)
Anyway, if you're in the vicinity of one of their 8 million locations outside of Northeast Philadelphia, make sure you do your civic duty, and get your free java.
Oh. And do that other civic duty today, too.
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KIROTV.com
Free Starbucks Coffee On Election Day After Illegal Ad
POSTED: 6:26 pm PST November 3, 2008
UPDATED: 5:34 am PST November 4, 2008
SEATTLE -- Seattle-based Starbucks is making fast changes -- after being accused of breaking the law with an offer to voters.
Prior to Monday afternoon, Starbucks was promoting an ad that said anyone who says enters a Starbucks on Election Day and says that they voted would get a free cup of tall coffee.
RAW VIDEO: Starbucks' Election Day Ad http://www.kirotv.com/video/17885255/index.html
Election officials for the state of Washington told KIRO 7 that rewarding voters with free coffee is illegal.
"No good deed goes unpunished," said Nick Handy, director of elections.
Handy said there is a federal statute that prohibits any reward for voting.
Starbucks' good deed can be perceived as paying someone to vote, and that’s illegal, Handy said.
"The way it is written, it expressly prohibits giving any kind of gift," Handy said.
Handy said the intent of the statute is aimed at special interest groups trying to influence who and how people vote.
To fix the situation, Starbucks had agreed to give a tall cup of coffee to anyone who asks on Election Day.
A statement from Tara Darrow of Starbucks says, "We've been excited by the number of positive responses received about our free coffee offer. To ensure we are in compliance with election law, we are extending our offer to all customers who request a tall brewed coffee. We're pleased to honor our commitment to communities on this important Election Day. We hope there is a record turnout on Tuesday and look forward to celebrating with our customers over a great cup of coffee."
Copyright 2008 by KIROTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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