A campaign flier circulating in St. Paul presents a lucrative deal to bolster civic engagement: Vote for Rashad Turner for the Minnesota House and you could win a car.

But that offer appears to violate campaign finance laws.

Fliers distributed near the Ravoux Hi-Rise on Ravoux Street encourage potential voters to cast a ballot for Turner, a candidate for state representative in House District 65A, "and enter to WIN A FREE CAR." Turner, 31, is aiming to unseat DFL-endorsed Rep. Rena Moran in the party's primary on Tuesday.

Under Minnesota law, anyone who "pays, gives, promises, or lends any money, food, liquor, clothing, entertainment, or other thing of monetary value" to another person "to induce a voter to refrain from voting, or to vote in a particular way, at an election, is guilty of a felony."

Campaign materials are also required to have a written disclaimer, which the flier does not.

The flier locates the nearest polling station and provides detailed instructions on what residents need to participate. A number for "Miki" is listed for voters to enter the drawing. Miki could not be reached for comment, but a voice mail asks the caller to leave their name and number for a chance to win. "We hope to see you vote on August 9," the message says. "Hopefully someone will be contacting you August 10 with a new, free car."

Turner, founder of Black Lives Matter St. Paul, has denied having any involvement in the flier offer. He identified Miki to other media as a local car dealer and supporter of his campaign, but said he did not fund the effort.

Turner did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Saturday.

To address criticism on social media, he tweeted: "After speaking with election official I want to state that I don't believe the flier to be false or misleading and it's not our campaign lit[erature]."

Joe Mansky, Ramsey County elections manager, confirmed that Turner reached out to him for advice on Friday. Mansky said Turner declined to file a complaint about the matter with the Office of Administrative Hearings, a judiciary body that would determine if there was a violation.

As for any complaints from others, Turner would not be liable for penalties if he was deemed not at fault.

"It would be unfair to hold a candidate or a campaign committee responsible for someone else's actions," Mansky said.

Over the past year, Turner has led demonstrations that shut down a gate at the State Fair and threatened to disrupt the Twin Cities Marathon, St. Paul's Crashed Ice extravaganza and light-rail transit before a Vikings game. Some of the actions were denounced by Gov. Mark Dayton, and all of them sent St. Paul leaders scrambling. At least two led to meetings with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

During the House campaign, Turner has dialed back his leadership role in BLM, but he still attends most local demonstrations.

Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648