Posted on 09/25/2012 4:59:18 AM PDT by tellw
Description **********HOW TO SWAP YOUR VOTE IN THIS FACEBOOK GROUP**********
Background: Why should I swap my vote in 2012?
America’s political system is not working. There is partisan gridlock in Washington- Democrats and Republicans are not cooperating to solve the problems that face our country. These two major parties dominate every election with money and political influence. Smaller 3rd parties such as the Libertarians and the Green Party need to get at least 5% of the vote in 2012 in order to gain major party status and compete on a level playing field- 5% of the vote would give these parties access to Federal campaign funds and allow them participate in presidential debates. However, Americans rarely vote for 3rd parties, because we are afraid that it will help the opposition party to win the election (Democrat or Republican, depending on your political views). For example, if you voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 it may have helped Bush to defeat Gore. Because of this fear, nothing ever changes… and we keep voting for the same old politicians.
THE GOAL OF VOTE SWAP IS TO HELP 3rd PARTIES GET 5% OF THE VOTE IN 2012 so that these parties can become a real force in future elections. Because of the Electoral College system, millions of Americans have very little political voice- for instance if you are a conservative in California, or a liberal in Texas, your vote doesn’t really have an impact. Vote Swap enables such ‘safe state’ voters to trade their vote with ‘swing state’ voters, so that 3rd parties can get enough votes to reach the 5% threshold. At the same time, it helps the major party that you support, because in exchange for your vote for a 3rd party candidate in a safe state like California or Texas, someone else in a crucial swing state will agree to vote for Obama or Romney (whichever you agree upon). THIS IS A WIN-WIN SITUATION… BECAUSE EITHER WAY, YOU WILL VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE YOU AGREE WITH.
********************HOW DO I SWAP MY VOTE?*********************
Two voters with similar political views contact each other through this Facebook group, and agree to 'swap' their votes. One of the swappers should live in a SWING STATE, and the other swapper should live in a SAFE STATE. The swing state voter agrees to vote for either Obama or Romney (according to your shared political preference). The safe state voter agrees to vote for one of the 3rd party presidential candidates (for example, Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, or Jill Stein of the Green Party, or you could cast a write-in vote for Ron Paul). The point is to improve American politics and governance by helping small parties to be competitive, while not hurting the chances of the major party you support (whether Democrats or Republicans).
1. FIRST, YOU MUST DETERMINE WHETHER YOU LIVE IN A SWING STATE OR A SAFE STATE.
Swing states are competitive states where we don’t know for sure if Democrats or Republicans will win. Safe states are states where either Obama or Romney is so far ahead, that your vote doesn’t really affect the election. The following states are SWING STATES IN 2012: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin. EVERY OTHER STATE IS A SAFE STATE- in other words if you live in a safe state, it is highly unlikely that casting a vote for a 3rd Party will change the result of the election (either Romney or Obama currently has a big lead in this state, and the current leader is virtually guaranteed of winning in November).
2. THEN, YOU MUST DETERMINE WHICH MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATE, AND WHICH 3rd PARTY CANDIDATES YOU SUPPORT. The major party candidate will either be Romney or Obama. If you aren’t sure which 3rd party presidential candidates you most agree with, this website can help you find out quickly and easily: http://www.isidewith.com/
For example, if you are a liberal in a swing state you might want to vote for Jill Stein (Green Party). An Obama supporter (also liberal) who lives in a safe state will agree to vote for Jill Stein, and in exchange you will vote for Obama. This is a win-win situation.
Another example: you are a conservative in a safe state, and are afraid that Romney might lose the election because of the heavy support for libertarian candidates like Ron Paul and Gary Johnson. So you agree to vote for Gary Johnson, and in exchange another conservative in a swing state agrees to vote for Romney. This is also a win-win situation.
3. GET IN TOUCH WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE VOTE SWAP GROUP. Post a comment on the comment board of the Vote Swap group page so that the other members can see you, or you can send a message to one of the other members who has already posted a comment on the board. This will allow you to link up with you so that you can swap votes. When you post a comment on the board, you should indicate A) whether you live in a Swing state or a Safe state, and B) also indicate which candidate(s) you wish to vote for in the election.
5. FIND AN APPROPRIATE PARTNER IN THE COMMENTS SECTION AND AGREE TO SWAP VOTES. So if you live in a Swing State, you should look for someone who lives in a Safe State. Your political views should be similar (i.e. both generally liberal, or both generally conservative). A good swap partner will be one in which it is a win-win situation- in other words if your partner doesn't follow through, you still don’t lose because you are voting for a candidate who you generally agree with.
6. VERIFY THAT YOUR PARTNER IS BEING HONEST WITH YOU. Ultimately, you can’t be 100% sure that your partner will vote the way they say that they will (or if they will even vote!). However, Facebook makes it easier to be reasonably sure of your partner’s honesty and good intentions. A good way is to become Facebook Friends, just to make sure that your partner is a real person and that they actually live in the state that they say they do. People’s political views are also often evident from their Facebook page. Another good way to verify your partner’s honesty is to both agree to post a message on your Facebook Walls the day before the election, saying something like “I swapped with Johnny in Arkansas” so that you know that A) they remembered your deal, and B) that they haven’t been swapping votes with 47 other people as well. You can come up with other ideas on your own, in order to try to verify that your partner is being honest. It’s up to you, ultimately, to choose a partner and to trust that they will vote according to your agreement.
*****************************Q & A:******************************
IS VOTE SWAPPING LEGAL? Yes! In 2007 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that vote-swapping websites are legally protected by our 1st Amendment rights. However, paying, bribing, or threatening someone to vote a certain way is illegal- this Facebook group does not condone illegal voting practices, or take responsibility for the actions of any members.
HAS VOTE SWAPPING OVER THE INTERNET BEEN DONE BEFORE? Yes! Several vote-swapping websites operated during the 2000 and 2004 elections. In those elections, liberals swapped their votes to increase support for Nader in safe states, and Gore in swing states. Also, vote-swapping websites exist in Canadian and British politics.
WHAT 3rd PARTIES ARE RUNNING CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012? Libertarian Party: Gary Johnson Constitution Party: Virgil Goode Green Party: Jill Stein Justice Party: Rocky Anderson America's Party: Tom Hoefling Party for Socialism and Liberation: Pita Lindsay Peace and Freedom Party: Roseann Barr Reform Party USA: Andre Barnett Socialist Workers Party: James Harris Objectivist Party: Tom Stevens American 3rd Position Party: Merlin Miller Socialist Party USA: Stewart Alexander Socialist Equality Party: Jerry White Grassroots Party: Jim Carlson
This election is way too important for this crap! Is this even legal? Someone should turn this into Eric Shawn on Fox.
I have to confess that I faked a vote swap in the last election.
Unless it was a double fake swap, somebody doubled my vote.
Obama voters are going to love this system.
Spot has swapped with dozens of liberals who promise to vote conservative in return for Spot's swing-state vote.
Your posts 3 and 4 NAILED it.
And that status is determined by........ polls.
Guess what, folks - THE POLLS LIE !
Haven't you figured that out yet?
Look at Rasmussen's PARTY ID this year vs. 2008. It has basically reversed: Rs now outnumber Ds 38-33 (or something like that). Yet the polls still oversample Ds by 5+ points?
And I'm supposed to trust these polls AND trust some random schmuck on the other end of this wire?
Do these idiots realize we do not have a parliamentary system, and that 5% or even 10% of the vote get you nothing? No MP seats, no guaranteed party representation in the Parliament we do not have? T.R. got 27% in 1912. The Bull Moose progressive party got no representation. Ross Perot got 19% in 1992. Same deal. Meaningless. Gary Johnson this year is a liberal posing as a libertarian, and is being funded by George Soros to hurt Romney. Why are so many Americans so damn stupid?
Montag - here’s why: “5% of the vote would give these parties access to Federal campaign funds and allow them participate in presidential debates.”
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