The Nation - News from Aug. 9, 1985

The Republican Party is paying Florida voter-drive workers a $4 bonus for every Democrat they can persuade to switch parties, a practice one Democratic leader likened to bounty hunting. “It’s politics in the 20th Century,” said Bill Greener, deputy chief of staff for the Republican National Committee in Washington. “As a lawyer friend of mine said, ‘We’re not doing anything illegal, immoral or fattening.’ ” In addition to the $4 incentive, the workers also earn $4 an hour, according to Jo Smith, head of Broward County’s Republican Executive Committee. The GOP is conducting “Operation Open Door” in several states to woo Democrats into the fold.