I'm stunned!! VOTE SWAPPING!

[LadyEagle]

Posted on Mon, Sep. 20, 2004
Kerry backers devise vote-swap scheme

BY PAUL NUSSBAUM

Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA - Pssst! Want your vote to count? In Ohio? Or Florida?

You can now arrange to trade votes with a voter in another state, under a plan created by activists who don't want Ralph Nader to siphon off votes from John Kerry in vital swing states.

Today, a group called VotePair.org will start hooking up Kerry voters in "safe" Democratic or Republican states with third-party voters in hotly contested states. The goal: to get would-be third-party voters to vote for Kerry in swing states, in exchange for Kerry supporters voting for Nader or Green Party candidate David Cobb in secure states.

That way, third-party candidates would get as many popular votes as otherwise, while Kerry would maximize his votes in states where they matter most. For instance, a voter in "safe" New Jersey could agree to vote for Nader, in exchange for a voter in "swing" Ohio agreeing to vote for Kerry.

The organizers of VotePair.org insist vote-trading is legal, but some state elections officials are not so sure.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/9708462.htm

Group Pushes Kerry-Nader Vote Swap

By Brian Faler
Saturday, September 25, 2004; Page A05

Vote swapping is back.

A group of liberal activists has created a Web site that helps John F. Kerry's and Ralph Nader's supporters trade votes in this year's election -- in the hopes of defeating President Bush.

The site, VotePair (www.votepair.org), introduces Nader supporters who live in swing states to Kerry backers from non-battleground states. The participants agree to vote for each other's candidates, in an elaborate attempt to maximize the Democratic nominee's chances of winning the November election without, in the process, taking votes away from Nader.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48634-2004Sep24.html

You can get in thru the cache page on Google.

The vote swap site is up & running - couldn't get to it from Explorer but when I went through the WP article, it was there.

I'm speechless.

 

[Ps104_33]

It doesnt surprise me at all. 30 or 40 years ago we called these people Communists. Today we call them Democrats. They will cheat, steal, lie and commit any kind of illegal, immoral and unethical act as long as it is for the "cause". Cradle to grave security under a Federal bureaucracy.

 

[KenH]

It's called tactical voting.

It's no different than what goes on in the U.S. Congress.

 

[Pastor Larry]

But it undermines the constitution and the way the election is set up. It is an attempt to get around the electoral college ... to subvert the constitution without congressional approval ... Like you say, Ken, it is no different than what goes on in teh US Congress.

 

[KenH]

Maybe Bush voters should team up with Peroukta and Badnarik voters and use the same tactic. The fight fire with fire kind of thing.

 

[Johnv]

I believe the concept of "vote swapping" and "vote buying" for registered voters is illegal. I don't know what the law is, but I recall reading that in a publication somewhere, stating that no invididual or entity may engage in coersion, offering of consideration, requiring or forbidding of the voting decision of any registered voter, and that no one may require a registered voter to divulge that person's vote.

If anyone knows of a federal law that prohibits such, please post.

If it ain't a law, it needs to be.

 

[LadyEagle]

The only thing I could find was where the District Court - 9th Court of Appeals shut down the State of California versus them suit on a "free speech" issue. Thus, it's up and running and apparently legal????

Check out all the scoop about it:

http://news.votepair.org/

I do see a point to it, even though it is dirty and circumvents the Constitution. It's also because people are angry that third party candidates aren't allowed in the Presidential debates. I see no where in the Constitution, either, where the Presidential Race is supposed to be between only two parties. So, basically, what the Federal Election Commission does is unconstitutional, as well, by leaving our choices narrowed down to hearing only two sides.

Now that I'm over being stunned, I do see how an argument could be made that it's fine.

Another thing - each state has different deadlines when the absentee ballots are supposed to be in. (as in Military) Some aren't even due in until 15 days or more past November 2nd. It doesn't make sense to me - what's the point of voting absentee if your vote doesn't really count past voting day?

Yikes! What am I thinking - This is a hot tip for O'Reilly - gotta go email!

 

[LadyEagle]

Emailed all the places I could think of. We'll see if news breaks anywhere among the usual conservative suspects.

 

[JGrubbs]

Someone on the Crosswalk.com forums told me they wanted to "swap votes" with me, they said they would vote for Peroutka in CA, if I would vote for Bush in FL.

Here was my reponse to them:

Sorry, my vote is not for sale. If you believe that Bush is the best of the six candidates for the country, then you need to vote for Bush, the same goes for those who believe that Kerry is best candidate for the country. I respect your vote, if you vote for what you believe in, and I would hope that you would be able to respect my vote for Peroutka, because I am voting my convictions for what I believe in.

The only wasted vote is when you vote for something or someone you don't believe in, but "hold your nose" and simply voting for the "lesser of two evils", even though they don't believe in them.

 

[LadyEagle]

Great response!

This will probably be the last election I'll vote in. Hopefully I won't be around for the next Presidential election, I'll be in a Theocracy called Glory Land.

Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!

 

[Pennsylvania Jim]

Are you ill?

 

[Pennsylvania Jim]

Originally posted by JGrubbs:

Sorry, my vote is not for sale. ...because I am voting my convictions for what I believe in.

The only wasted vote is when you vote for something or someone you don't believe in, ...

Amen to that. PA is a critical state, and I'll be casting my vote for Peroutka right here.

 

[Daisy]

Republicans tried to get prosecutors to go after Michael Moore for election fraud because he offered clean underwear, as well as other trivial gag gifts, if they would pledge to vote. Just to vote, not even to vote in a particular way.

The prosecutors declined.

The state Republican Party asked prosecutors in four counties to file charges against Moore for offering underwear and food to college students in exchange for a promise to vote. State law prohibits a person from contracting with another for something of value in exchange for agreeing to vote.
Associated Press

Apparently, Michigan prosecutors just don't value clean underwear.

 

[LadyEagle]

In Chicago, Democrats were giving away packs of cigarettes to the homeless people last election, too. Bribing for votes.

Oh here it is:

Constance Milstein, a platinum-card Democrat, flew into Milwaukee a few days before the election to help Gore-Lieberman workers trade packs of cigarettes for votes at a homeless shelter.

“We call it "smokes for votes,'...

Source