Confirmed Nov 4 Freebies

[Michael Palero]

Just got the free Starbucks coffee.

I heard reports of free Ben & Jerrys, Krispy Kreme and Wendy's Frosties.

Can anyone confirm these?

[Pete Loney]

A friend texted me about the free krispy creme's with your I voted sticker....
2nd hand info. at best...

[Steve Ekstrand]

Topless laps at Blue Zebra....

[Bob Beamesderfer]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-v ... 5642.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Pete Loney]

Real dumb. There are national voting laws that prohibit any freebies for voters -vs- non voters...

So now everybody gets a free tall starbucks and you need the passphrase "Hot Vote Now" for your free Krsipy Kreme...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=topnews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Michael Palero]

But who's going to enforce the law if the doughnuts and coffee are free?

[Michael Palero]

Washington D.C. Chick-Fil-A! confirmed!

[Michael Palero]

StarBucks and In-N-Out to continue free coffee & burger offer through November 5:
Starbucks Coffee

[Steve Ekstrand]

In and out???
Highly doubtful.

[Jason Flores]

Full story on "FREE" stuff for voters that became free stuff for EVERYONE!!!

Starbucks Free Java Violates Election Law, State Says (Update1)

By Duane D. Stanford

Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp., the world's largest chain of coffee shops, may violate federal election laws if it follows through with a promise to give free coffee tomorrow to those who vote.

Election officials in the state of Washington told the Seattle-based coffee chain that federal law prohibits payment of money, goods or services in return for voting, said David Ammons, spokesman for the Washington secretary of state.

``Federal law makes no distinction between cups of coffee or a raffle ticket versus a buy-the-vote kind of thing on the other end of the spectrum,'' Ammons said today in an interview. ``We just told Starbucks, essentially, no good deed goes unpunished. We appreciate the gesture, but it's forbidden.''

The promotion promising a free small cup of brewed coffee on election day to anyone who says they voted is part of the company's effort to reverse five quarters of declining customer traffic. The coffee chain, led by Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, reported in July its first quarterly loss in 16 years as a public company.

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shops avoided the possibility of a similar election infraction by offering free scoops to anyone for three hours tomorrow evening.

``Originally, we planned to give free scoops away just to those who voted,'' Walt Freese, chief euphoria officer of the Vermont-based ice-cream maker, said in a statement on the company's Web site. ``We found out afterwards that certain laws may not allow it. So instead we're celebrating our election with a national party.''

`A Better Place'

Starbucks spokeswoman Deb Trevino didn't return a voice- mail message and e-mail seeking comment.

Ammons said he didn't know whether Starbucks would change its promotion in response to the call from a representative for Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed. Should the chain proceed with the giveaway, any prosecution would be the jurisdiction of state or federal prosecutors, Ammons said.

``We would not be advocating for legal action'' if Starbucks chooses to give free coffee to voters, Ammons said.

Starbucks advertised the voter promotion on television this weekend during the comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live. The company also sent an e-mail to Starbucks rewards card subscribers asking, ``What if we all cared enough to vote?''

``Would our world be a better place? We think so, too,'' the e-mail said. ``So come into Starbucks on Nov. 4th, tell us you voted and we'll proudly give you a tall cup of brewed coffee on us.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Duane D. Stanford in Atlanta dstanford2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 3, 2008 18:50 EST