politicians, a few questions aboutthe legalities

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I am not talking about any specific politician, just politicians in general so hopefully I am not going against board rules.

 

Do politicians that are running for an office and go on talk shows get paid? Do they get to talk about their running stance or are they limited to non political talk? And if they are allowed to "campaign", is this ethical?

 

Also, with all the campaign adds running (here it is not just presidential), so much is comprised of quoting the other candidate, but many of the quotes are taken out of context or in at least one case I saw chopped up and spliced together to say what would look bad for the candidate...isn't this a form of slander?

 

And at what point is it considered harassing...I receive at least 5 calls a day for politicians, for the most part it is for the same person running. If I hang up a few minutes later they call back.

 

Side question

In the areas hit by Sandy, if they allow these people to vote later then the election day, will the candidates be allowed to still campaign after the 6th? If it is a close election, as predicted, what measures would be in place to keep things from getting out of hand there. The votes of these people would be like gold or worse, knowing how some people can get beyond extreme about their candidates, how will these votes be kept safe?

[bettyandbob]

Election day cannot be moved. It is my understanding that doing so would take an act of congress. I don't see congress doing that. The polls can have extended hours--each state makes that decision. I suspect hard hit areas will have extended polling. States that have early voting have already extended the hours early voting is open.

[Pawz4me]

In the areas hit by Sandy, if they allow these people to vote later then the election day, will the candidates be allowed to still campaign after the 6th? If it is a close election, as predicted, what measures would be in place to keep things from getting out of hand there. The votes of these people would be like gold or worse, knowing how some people can get beyond extreme about their candidates, how will these votes be kept safe?

 

I believe it would take an act of Congress to postpone election day. And that's not likely to happen. But in the event that did happen, I believe any postponement would apply to all states.