Remember to Vote Yes or No Today

When your library budget comes up, are you allowed to tell patrons to vote \”Yes\” in support of your library? The very interesting (and political) question was brought up in this article from Arkansas Online , in which the answer was no.

\”We\’ve had questions all along,\” Schaper said. \”I\’ve always told my [library] staff to just answer the question. You can say be sure to vote, but you can\’t say, \’We need you to vote yes.\”

When your library budget comes up, are you allowed to tell patrons to vote \”Yes\” in support of your library? The very interesting (and political) question was brought up in this article from Arkansas Online , in which the answer was no.

\”We\’ve had questions all along,\” Schaper said. \”I\’ve always told my [library] staff to just answer the question. You can say be sure to vote, but you can\’t say, \’We need you to vote yes.\”


\”If the measure passes, the tax will generate about $16.5 million to $17 million over 18 months. The money will go toward construction costs of the new library west of the Fayetteville Square.\”


\”Schaper said she was more comfortable Monday night at a meeting to inform voters about the proposed library and the sales-tax vote than she was a week ago.\”


\”I\’m clear now,\” Schaper said. \”I wasn\’t as clear last week. It felt awkward.\”


\”Schaper moved smoothly through Monday night\’s questions, but she was never pressed to give a rousing rah-rah for the project. At one point, she even mentioned voting yes and voting no, but she never seemed to encourage people to vote either way.\”


\”People who vote \’no\’ need to know why they are voting \’no\’ just as people voting \’yes\’ should know why they are voting \’yes,\’ \” Schaper said. \”People should educate themselves.\”