Anti-recall group buses homeless to polling place

Anti-recall group Forward Omaha transported three busloads of people Jan. 12 — many of them homeless — from the Siena Francis House to the Douglas County Election Commission to vote in the recall election of Mayor Jim Suttle. Voters on the bus were also offered the chance to work for $10 per hour, going door to door to encourage people to vote on election day Jan. 25. Forward Omaha officials say 60 people were paid $5 for completing 30 minutes of worker training on Jan. 12, but the compensation was in no way an enticement to vote in opposition of the recall. Compensating voters with money or goods in exchange for a favorable vote is a violation of state law.