Encouraging people to attend the elections in November will be hard enough for candidates, but it is even harder to encourage voters to attend primary elections. California projects a low turn out, so to promote the primaries for locals, various San Jose weed dispensaries have begun to offer weed as a reward for voting.

The Silicon Valley Cannabis Coalition announced the initiative earlier this week. According to Reuters, the participating pot clubs and weed dispensaries will offer free weed or a discount to anyone who can prove they voted with a ballot stub or an "I Voted" sticker.

"Primary elections tend to have much lower turnout because people don't even know there's a vote that day," said Dave Hodges, a cannabis club owner and member of the Silicon Valley Cannabis Coalition. "We want to help people know when to vote and who to vote for."

However, the group's attempt to encourage a high turnout may be illegal. Federal law bans what could be considered as bribes in exchange for votes. Though the voter's guides being handed out by the participating clubs only focus on state and local campaigns, there are candidates running for federal office as well, Reuters reported.

Yet, a dozen out of the 40 clubs part of the coalition have already agreed to participate, and more could follow. The coalition's pamphlets support various Democrats running; however, the director John Lee said they back any politician who is "friendly to the cannabis movement or at least better than the alternatives."

According to San Jose Inside and Metro, the "Weed for Votes" campaign is illegal at the federal level. However, California state law only forbids people from offering payment or compensation for preventing voting or encouraging voters to vote for a certain candidate or measure. Following inquiries with state investigators and civil servants, the newspaper was told the promotion is likely legal.

"I just spoke to the Sec. of State's legal office," wrote Michelle McGurk, spokeswoman for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "If there is a federal contest on the ballot, which there is, federal law prohibits inducing individuals to register or vote."

Yet, the Silicon Valley Cannabis Coalition may have already started a dialogue and