Q: I am preparing my email blast to announce this and encourage folks to vote in the Music Poll. I know that part is on the up and up. My question concerns live shows. Is it considered ballot stuffing if I offer a copy of the Chronicle and pre-addressed/stamped envelope to my fans at shows? I certainly don't want to get into trouble there.

A: Basically, yes, we consider that stuffing. Mail-in votes are so few these days and we've always known that if we get a bunch of envelopes with the same stamp and handwriting on the address etc, it's obvious that someone has made an effort at block voting. That might result in having only a portion of the votes counted. However, were they to fill out the envelope themselves, that would tell me it was an individual effort. (I actually do look at the envelopes and all the ballots.)

I'm not suggesting you do this but I am surprised that enterprising bands don't simply set up a laptop at gigs and solicit people to vote on the spot though it's probably not as fast as having them scribble votes on paper. Bands who offer suggestions for voting in multiple categories can benefit a lot from the effort because not only do folks take your suggestions but it inspires them to think of their own favorites too.

To me, the best way to get votes is make it easy for your fans to vote. Remind them weekly, provide a good link for them, suggest additional names for other categories etc. Make good use of MySpace - a big change in Poll voting came two years ago when MySpace band campaigns made a huge difference. And talk about it at gigs

love,
Poll Answer Lady