Vote swapping, a method of exchanging votes with other voters in swing states, has mixed reviews with both the election commission and individuals who think the process is unethical.
Vote swapping is a service provided by several Websites which allows a Gore supporter and a Nader supporter to help their candidates by "trading" votes.
According to trading site www.voteswap2000.com, if a person in a swing state like Tennessee wants to vote for Nader, he could trade votes with a person in a state where Gore is sure to win or lose, such as Texas. Gore would gain popular votes in the swing state, and Nader would still get a vote toward the 5 percent needed to gain federal funding for the 2004 election.
The president is elected based on the number of electoral votes received from each state. Tennessee provides 11 electoral votes, so if a candidate wins the electoral vote in this state, he receives 11 votes toward the 270 needed to become president.
Political science professor Bill Marty said vote swapping is unethical.
"If you have any ethics," Marty said, "you would not vote swap. Vote swapping is manipulating the election."
The services help voters in swing states who want to support Nader instead of Gore, but do not want to inadvertently help elect Republican candidate George W. Bush, according to www.nadertrader.com.
The current swing states are Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Junior management information systems major Charles Ashley said vote swapping could make a difference in the election.
"I think the idea is funny," Ashley said. "It would help to change the outcome in some states, but a lot of people would have to swap to have a major effect on the election."One vote swapping site, www.VoteExchange.com, provides a legal notice stating the service is a vote exchange, not a vote broker.
A broker actually sells votes, which is a federal offense. It is legal to exchange votes based on an honor system that does not involve money.
The site works by providing a name, e-mail address and a reason why he or she would be trustworthy to exchange votes. The person would then select the candidate he wants to vote for and the state where he is located.
The service matches the person with someone willing to vote that certain way. The deal is finalized with an e-mail to the matched party.
However, some people believe the honor system could fail when the election booth curtain is closed.
A Shelby County election commission spokesperson who did not want to be named said a swapper could change his vote at the last minute.
"The ballot is secret," the spokesperson said. "No one knows what way a person will vote. They may say they are going to vote a certain way, but then change their mind."
Vote swapping has received some legal criticism as well.
In late October, the California Secretary of State ruled that vote swapping was in violation of California law.
One exchange website, www.voteswap2000.com, turned off its voter-matching software to comply with the law.
Even though California Secretary of State Chief Counsel William Wood upheld the practice of vote exchange Nov. 2, the software at Vote Swap 2000 has remained offline.
Despite the law, Ashley said vote swapping is a moral issue involving someone's personal convictions.
"I'm voting for Nader," Ashley said. "I know he will not win, but I would try to swap votes with someone in another state if I knew he would win all the states."
