By SABRINA TAVERNISE
WASHINGTON — When workers in a McDonald’s restaurant in Canton, Ohio, opened their paychecks this month, they found a pamphlet urging them to vote for the Republican candidates for governor, Senate and Congress, or possibly face financial repercussions.
The pamphlet appeared calculated to intimidate workers into voting for Republican candidates by making a direct reference to their wages and benefits, said Allen Schulman, a Democrat who is president of the Canton City Council and said he obtained a copy of the pamphlet on Wednesday.
The pamphlet said: “If the right people are elected, we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above the current levels. If others are elected, we will not.”
It then named three Republican candidates after stating, “The following candidates are the ones we believe will help our business move forward.”
The store’s owner, Paul Siegfried, did not return a call for comment, but a spokesman for McDonald’s USA, the parent company, said: “It was an unfortunately lapse in judgment on Mr. Siegfried’s part. He’s disappointed with himself.”
The spokesman, Joe Woods, e-mailed a statement on Mr. Siegfried’s behalf. “For those that I have offended, I sincerely apologize,” the statement said.
Mr. Woods said Mr. Siegfried’s action did not represent the policy of McDonald’s.
Mr. Schulman, who is a lawyer, said that distribution of the pamphlet — which was printed on a McDonald’s letterhead — violates a 1953 Ohio statute that prohibits political material from being attached to wage envelopes. He declined to comment on how he got a copy, or who gave it to him, but said it was distributed to employees within the past week.
He said he had forwarded a copy to the authorities in Canton, requesting that they investigate.
Joe Martuccio, the law director for the city of Canton, said by telephone on Friday he was in the process of determining whether the distribution occurred within city limits and whether he had the authority to investigate.
“We have to determine the facts first,” he said.
The incident came as liberal voting-rights groups expressed concern that conservative complaints about fraudulent voting would lead to a reduced turnout on Election Day. Some Tea Party members have announced plans to question voters at the polls whom they suspect of being ineligible.
The incident also highlighted how fraught politics have become just days before the midterm elections in Ohio, a key battleground state, where incumbent Democrats are struggling for their survival.