Lynne D. Boyer
An Ephrata man is raffling off a shotgun to raise money for his district judge campaign, saying a strict law that regulates games of chance and forced the shutdown of a similar political fundraiser last week doesn't apply to him.
"We've done everything by the book," Republican Lynne D. Boyer said.
Raffles are considered a small game of chance under state law, and running one is illegal without a license — which Boyer said his campaign hasn't applied for and doesn't need.
"I am under the impression that, because this is a once-and-done deal and I have all the nonprofit paperwork, that I am exempt from that," he said.
Officials with the district attorney's office, the agency that is responsible for enforcing the law, said they had not gotten a complaint about Boyer's raffle and declined to comment.
Even if the campaign had a license, however, the raffle appears to pose a separate problem: Proceeds from small games of chance can't be used to fund a political campaign.
The Pennsylvania Local Option Small Games of Chance Act of 1988 allows eligible nonprofit organizations to run small games of chance to raise money for "public interest purposes," such as religious and/or educational programs.
"If it was for a voter-registration drive, that's more along the lines of a public interest," said Allison Roberts, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Revenue. She said authorities at the county level are responsible for enforcing the law but said the state agency's attorneys do not believe it is legal to operate a raffle to fund a political campaign.
Supporters of Louie Rodriguez, a state narcotics agent who wants to be Lancaster County's next sheriff, shut down their $40-a-ticket raffle last week after the district attorney's office told them they needed a license.
Boyer said his $3-a-ticket raffle, for a new Mossberg 12-gauge camouflage turkey gun, is exempt from seeking a license because his campaign is a tax-exempt entity.
"I run a tight ship," said Boyer, a 55-year-old consultant. "If the district attorney would have a problem with the way this was handled, we'll discuss that with him."
Boyer said he was aware of the raffle that got some of Rodriguez's supporters in a bit of trouble last week but that he did not intend to call off his campaign's own raffle.
"I would presume that if the DA would want to pursue this, it would probably end up with a debate or whatever between myself and the Department of State and him," Boyer said. "I sincerely believe that we've done everything right."
The raffle drawing is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. Friday at Boyer's home and campaign office on East Hill Street in Ephrata. He said he did not know how many of the 500 tickets his campaign had sold as of Monday, but added that interest in the raffle was "extremely high."
He declined to say how much his campaign had paid for the shotgun, but similar guns retail for between $400 and $600. He said the winner of the raffle will be directed to pick up the shotgun at a Lebanon County gun shop.
The raffle tickets come with a printed disclaimer that requires anyone not allowed to own a firearm to forfeit their winning ticket.
"They're buying it under the pretext that they're allowed to own the gun," Boyer said.
Boyer is one of seven candidates for district judge in Ephrata. The position is now held by Judge Jene A. Willwerth. District judges earn a yearly salary of $82,303.
District judges preside over traffic cases, other minor criminal cases and civil cases involving amounts up to $12,000. They also set bail and conduct preliminary hearings in misdemeanor and felony criminal cases.
Boyer said he had been expecting someone to raise an issue about his raffle, given the heated nature of the district judge race. He said some of his opponents are flouting election laws by placing campaign signs in public rights of way, and failing to print disclaimers showing who paid for the advertising.
"Some of the people who are running for this office just aren't doing things right according to the elections law," he said. "And if they aren't doing things right according to the elections law, how in the world are they going to do the job as a judge, when there's 5 million times the knowledge that has to be garnered?"
