As my mother would say, oy.
There's nothing illegal about having candidates speak at a museum. But
there is an absolute prohibition not only on treating one candidate
differently from another, but even in promoting a particular point of view
-- e.g., "support museum-friendly candidates." In the example mentioned,
the museum would have to be sure that every candidate had the same
kind of lemonade stand; it would have to be sure that museum staff and/or
volunteers were under strict orders to offer no views; it would probably
not be allowed to publish reports of what the candidates said; and it
would be forbidden absolutely from allowing audience members/fairgoers to
express opinions for or against candidates. All of which leads me to the
conclusion that, while political-rally-as-living-history is a creative
idea, it's probably almost impossible to pull off without crossing some
lines. I have excruciatingly detailed information on this subject, in
case anyone is interested.
Andy Finch
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AAM Government Affairs