Which scenario illustrates the offense of coercion of a public servant or voter?

• A. Paying a voter to vote for a candidate after the election.
• B. Threatening a public servant to influence them to violate their known legal duty.
• C. Offering a gift to a public servant to influence an official discretion.
• D. Encouraging a voter to vote for a candidate by sharing facts.

Answer: (B)

Coercion of a public servant or voter happens when someone uses threats or force to push a public official or a voter into acting in a way that goes against their duties or voting choices. The scenario that fits this best is when someone threatens a public servant to influence them to violate a known legal duty—the threat is aimed at compelling the official to do something illegal or improper, which is exactly what coercion prohibes.

The other situations involve bribery or lawful persuasion rather than coercion: paying a voter to vote for a candidate after the election is bribery of a voter; offering a gift to a public servant to influence their discretion is bribery of a public servant; encouraging a voter to vote for a candidate by sharing facts is normal political persuasion and does not involve threats or coercion.