24 replies to this topic

[sear]

Quote

Minn. Teen Charged With Offering His Vote on eBay
The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS

A college student ... put his vote in this fall's presidential election up for sale on the Web auction site eBay.

University of Minnesota student Max P. Sanders, 19, was charged with a felony Thursday in Hennepin County District Court after allegedly asking for a minimum of $10 in exchange for voting for the bidder's preferred candidate.

Sanders was charged with one count of bribery, treating and soliciting under an 1893 state law that makes it a crime to offer to buy or sell a vote.

Sanders and his attorney, Steven Levine, declined to comment Thursday. The charge carries up to five years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

As for the offer on eBay? It got no bids.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=5307255

According to this article, "1893 state law that makes it a crime to offer to buy or sell a vote."
Is it a crime in your State?
Should it be?
Can / should a State law have legal bearing on a federal election?

What is the reason that selling votes is a bad, or good idea?

[Cradle of Fish]

What a silly crime. Up to 5 years? Who cares what your motivation for voting for someone is, I'd gladly sell my vote if someone offered me money for it.

[Mr Honeybadger]

Some candidates try and buy your vote now  by promising you welfare and handouts in return for your vote.

[Siara]

I think it's very important to keep this highly illegal.  If we don't, poor families who are desperate for money will sell their votes to big businesses who have an infinite amount of money to buy votes.  The businesses will, of course, use these votes to elect candidates who will give them even more power and allow them to dodge even more labor laws.  As a result, the poor will go even further down the drain.

Selling votes. Jeez, what an absolutely horrible idea.  I think the fine is appropriate to the crime (though the kid who did this probably didn't mean anything by it and shouldn't be nailed to the wall legally)



Attn conservatives reading this:
I know that "Trickle Down Economics" says empowering business is a natural way to empower the community.  The problem is that trickle down economics assumes that the businesses are hiring people WITHIN the community and spending profits WITHIN the community.  These businesses don't.  They outsource to third world countries where people will work 15 hours a day for 10 cents an hour.  Trickle down economics only works in a closed economic system.

[sear]

Quote

"Some candidates try and buy your vote" ohio

True.
But do you equate attempting to attract votes as morally & legally the same as offering to sell votes?

Siara,
You're way too sensible.

[Mr Honeybadger]

I totally agree with you Siara.  Allowing industry and businesses to export jobs has been disasterous.  If government is going to give them breaks they should be held to at least a minimum set of conditions.  What really makes me mad is when they move their headquarter's off shores to escape paying taxes.

[1.618]

At the moment we have a prime minister who wasn't voted for so i'm beginning to doubt the effectiveness of the whole voting thingy.

[sear]

Quote

"What really makes me mad is when they move their headquarter's off shores to escape paying taxes." ohio

Me totally too.

mr nobody,
I feel your pain.
The U.S. has a president that the electorate rejected in Y2K. But due to a fluky provision in the U.S. Constitution called the electoral college, this maniac became President anyway.

Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent humans have died as a result.

It's not merely a tragedy. It's a catastrophe.

Repeal the electoral college, or more innocent humans will needlessly die!

[Celumnaz]

ohio traveler on Jul 8 2008, 08:19 AM, said:

What really makes me mad is when they move their headquarter's off shores to escape paying taxes.

cut taxes and bring them home!

I was a delegate for my county at the state convention, our county chair is going to be a presidential elector (electoral college thing) so I'm trying to nudge him to vote for Ron Paul.  

[Elite]

this should stay highly illegal if it was legalised then big corporations would buy votes in order to put the polotician in control who will offer more for the corporations the before you know poloticians are owned by companies and votes are bought merely to get that polotician in power tell him what to do and allow the corporations to dodge laws and hire for less than minimun wage

[Cradle of Fish]

Big corporations have both candidates in their pocket to begin with, so why does it matter?

[Blue Box]

Yes, but how would the buyer know that the seller actually voted for their candidate?  I mean you would only have the seller's word that they did, the buyer or seller couldn't take pictures or film the vote so who is to say the seller actually voted their way?  

Edited by Blue Box, 08 July 2008 - 02:43 PM.

[sear]

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"Yes, but how would the buyer know that the seller actually voted for their candidate?" Blue

And how would the buyer know the vote was only sold once?
Why not sell it 50 times, to either side?

[Blue Box]

sear on Jul 8 2008, 10:57 AM, said:

And how would the buyer know the vote was only sold once?
Why not sell it 50 times, to either side?

Exactly, so basically the buyer is buying "nothing" in all cases.  Since the buyer wouldn't be able to have any way of knowing who the seller really voted for or who else the seller sold the said "vote" to.

[sear]

Blue,
Perhaps I'm not quite the cynic you are.

I'm not prepared to assume everyone lies all the time.

My position is, the prospective vote buyer might, or might not get what he thinks he's paying for.

And either way, he might never know.