NationStates Jolt Archive

votepair.org (http://votepair.org/index.php) is organizing a strategic initiative with the goal that Kerry win the electoral college and 3rd party candidates receive as much of the popular vote as possible.

It works like this: if you're in a swing state and planning to vote for a 3rd party candidate, that's bad for the liberal cause. If you're in a state that's not a swing state, and are planning to vote for Kerry, that's bad for the progressive cause. So, a 3rd-party swinger and a Kerry-predetermined-stater are paired up. The person in the swing state agrees to vote for Kerry so that Kerry takes the swing state, and the person in the safe state agrees to vote for Cobb/Badnarik/Nader/etc. so that 3rd parties still get the same percentage of the popular vote.

So far the site has shifted some 4600 votes, but with the more 3rd-party supporters in swing states that sign up, the more effective it is.

It's pretty cool; I've signed up there and got a guy voting for Nader in Utah while I voted Kerry in New Mexico. My partner's kind of weird, and not very talkative about the issues at stake here, or why he doesn't like Nader, but the site is pretty cool indeed.

There's one problem with this sort of thing, it's highly, HIGHLY illegal. This is legally defined as (depending on which judge or lawyer you talk to) election fixing, or voter fraud.

you may not by other voters' votes, or sell your own, even if it is to trade your own vote as the principal.

Mind you, I'm voting for Kerry (in Utah, not doing much good but I'm still doing it), so I'm not saying this to try to hamper either him or Nader (who would be a wonderful candidate, if he had any sort of a chance). I'm saying it to let people know you are in very serious legal danger if you do things like this, especially over so public a forum as the internet.

There's one problem with this sort of thing, it's highly, HIGHLY illegal.

Porter v. Jones will determine the legality. The ACLU claims that the practice is protected under the 1st amendment.

Please whereever you live don't vote for nader. Although i agree with the ideals of the Green Party, Nader accepted funding from the Republicans in order to appear on swing state ballots. He has sold himself out for simply personal gain, where if he really wanted to help change America he would not run at all.

Please whereever you live don't vote for nader. Although i agree with the ideals of the Green Party, Nader accepted funding from the Republicans in order to appear on swing state ballots. He has sold himself out for simply personal gain, where if he really wanted to help change America he would not run at all.

And the Democrats did all they could to keep him off ballots...

Ya know...it's your damned vote, and to just give it away, trusting in the good will of some other human being to cast it for you, just seems rather, unprincipaled when you look at it... Well, if ya believe in it, all for ya...but as for me, smells fishy and corrupt.

And because I know if I sighed up for it I'd not follow it and just vote as my heart desired. :D Yes, I know, I'm a terrible human being, or more simply, a human being.