USA Today reports that none of the early voting states—Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, or Nevada—have laws or ethics rules on whether legislators and other elected officials can receive payments from campaigns. That's a problem that prompts questions about the integrity of early votes and about the influence of politicians.
The issue has come under particular scrutiny in Iowa, the paper reports, because of the state's status as first to the polls, as a "leader" among other states, and a place where ethics rules are not written into state law but are "fuzzily written" for senatorial behavior.
The concerns may be an overreaction, says John Chamberlin. He comments that since legislators are permitted to earn outside income, "one would need good reasons to prohibit paid campaign work."
John Chamberlin quoted in USA Today on caucus payments
July 21, 2013