MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities on the lookout for election fraud say they've received calls about restaurants and coffee shops offering freebies to people wearing "I voted" stickers.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jeanne Cooney says it's against state and federal law to offer expenditures of any kind to anyone for voting or not voting. She says her office has been working with the state and the FBI to educate the restaurants.
She says authorities told the businesses they could offer free treats to everyone in celebration of Election Day if they wanted.
Cooney says: "They were really getting into the election spirit and all of that, and that's great. They just weren't aware."
The U.S. Attorney's Office has appointed a federal election officer to take reports of possible fraud and voting rights violations.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
