“Cincinnati-inspired bribery law could affect Republican convention”

Cincinnati Enquirer:

Anyone seeking to sway the votes of delegates at the 2016 Republican Convention in Cleveland in July will have to navigate a state anti-bribery law inspired by corruption in Cincinnati more than 140 years ago.

According to Ohio law, it is a felony to buy a delegate’s vote. If a candidate is responsible for the bribery, the candidate must forfeit the nomination or any office won.

The law could come into play in Cleveland. It increasingly seems likely that no candidate, not even frontrunner Donald Trump, will have a majority of delegates when the convention opens on July 18. A contested convention means Trump, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Governor John Kasich – the three remaining Republican candidates – will seek to convince delegates to back them amid multiple rounds of voting.

The bribery law dates back to 1871, according to ABC News, which first reported on the obscure provision and its ramifications for the upcoming Republican convention. The law was updated in 1874 to address bribery at political conventions, spurred by events in Cincinnati. The city played host to several political conventions in the years leading up to the legislation, including the 1856 Democratic Party national convention and the 1873-1874 convention to amend the state constitution.

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