First Mission in the BYOB Campaign: An Unidentified Robo-Poll

The recorded voice began calling Ocean City homes on Monday night to conduct a poll on BYOB.

"Hello. Do you support or oppose allowing Bring Your Own Bottle, BYOB, in Ocean City, New Jersey restaurants? Please press 1 if you support BYOB, 2 if you are opposed to it, or 3 if you are undecided."

The "robo-call" did not include any identification of its sponsor.

"Absolutely not," restaurateur Bill McGinnity told all the people who called him Tuesday morning to ask if his pro-BYOB political committee was behind the call. The group's lawyer, Jeff Sutherland, also said unequivocally that the BYOB petitioners were not responsible.

"Haven't heard it," Drew Fasy, the chair of the new anti-BYOB Committee to Preserve Ocean City, said of the robo-call.

Ocean City voters face a May 8 ballot question that will decide the fate of an initiative to permit BYOB restaurants in the dry town of Ocean City. The issue has sparked strong opinions on both sides. But the Patch readers who responded were all of the same mind: The robo-calls are an annoyance.

"I did get a call on my cell phone at around 7:15 p.m.," Al Arena said in an email. "In the past, the entire country used to get calls from those pests, telemarketers. Although I know that this is a political issue, I’m not positive about this interruption. I  want to know who has my cell phone number and decided to misuse it. I do not care which side sent it, I don’t want my evenings 'tainted' by politicians or restaurant owners. Political robo-calls are unwelcome telemarketing, no matter what the 'law.' "

"I got a call, too. Time to turn them in as an offense of the 'Do Not Call' law," said Patch commenter "Silver Mariposa." "I'm tired of the robo-calls that seem to go with 'non-partisan' elections in this town. I have had no prior business dealings with either side of this issue."

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Patch readers reported a caller ID of 609-316-0979 (if you dial the number, you can hear the call).
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In addition to the national Do Not Call Registry (which allows people to block their telephone numbers from telemarketers), New Jersey has a strict statute (48:17-28) prohibiting robo-calls:

"A caller within the State shall not use a telephone or telephone line to contact a subscriber within the State to deliver a recorded message other than for emergency purposes, unless the recorded message is introduced by an operator who shall obtain the subscriber's consent before playing the recorded message, or unless a prior or current relationship exists between the caller and the subscriber."

But since the "existing relationship" is not defined, political campaigns in New Jersey have interpreted it to cover registered voters, party members, volunteer lists, previous donors and others with loose links to their cause—and robo-calls have become commonplace at election time.

New Jersey election law (19:25-13.2) does appear to require a political identification statement for a "telephone call featuring a recorded message." It reads, in part:

"The communication shall clearly state the name and business or residence address of the committee, person or group, as that information appears on the certificate of organization and designation of depository (Form D-1, D-2, PC, D-4, D-3, D-5, respectively) filed by the candidate committee, joint candidates committee, political committee, continuing political committee, political party committee, or legislative leadership committee or, in the case of a person or group, as the name of the person or group and business or residence address appears in public records or a current telephone directory, and the communication shall clearly state that the communication has been paid for by that committee, person or group."

If the robo-call were financed by an individual spending less than $2,100, it's unclear what the reporting requirements might be. But if two or more individuals are part of a group that plans to spend more than $2,100 supporting a public question, they are required to register with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (within 10 days of forming) and report contributions and expenditures (reports are required 29 days before the elections among a schedule of other reporting).

New Jersey ELEC received registration for Friends of Shop, Dine and Play in Ocean City on Feb. 15. The documentation for the pro-BYOB group lists Jane L. Custer as its chairperson and Susan K. Jones as treasurer. Bill McGinnity and Jeff Sutherland are listed as people having control over the affairs of the political committee. (See attached PDF for political committee guidelines.)

New Jersey ELEC shows no record of registration for the Committee to Preserve Ocean City, which lists Fasy as chair, Carl Scheetz as vice chair and Ken Cooper as treasurer on a new website (dontchangeoceancity.com) whose domain name was registered on March 8.

Fasy said a political committee had formed last summer during an earlier BYOB petition drive and that the new committee is still in the process of organizing again and creating a new website to be launched next week.

A link on the Ocean City Tabernacle website refers users to the Committee to Preserve Ocean City site, and Tabernacle President Richard Stanislaw deferred comment to the new political committee.