How about vote-swapping to help insure Trump loses?
How about vote-swapping to help insure Trump loses?
I've started the process myself
If you live in a safely BLUE state, such as California (where I live), why cast your vote like a Black-eyed Susan seed in a meadow already overrun with wildflowers? With vote swapping, if you're in a safe state, you promise to vote for the third party candidate of your swap-mate's choice (who lives in a swing state), or vice-versa. Past guest of the This Is Hell! program/podcast, Andrew Boyd, who votes in New York, says,
"I’m swapping votes with a massage therapist in Georgia named Liz who is heartbroken over Gaza. She’s voting for Harris on my behalf in her crucial swing state, while I’m voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein on her behalf in my safe blue state of New York. It’s been a tender exploration of trust and faith between strangers… and many voters are reporting similar unexpectedly profound connections across state lines with their vote-swap-mates."
But what if the other person is lying?
Well, here in California, there’s no down side. If I vote for Jill Stein (who I’m not particularly won over by, incidentally) and my swing-state swappee lies and votes for Stein as well, at least I tried, and CA will still go Blue. But if my swappee in, say, Michigan keeps their promise and votes for Harris/Walz, my simple action might turn out to have been part of an effort to push that state over into the Solid Blue column.
I only know if I wake up on the 6th and Trump is president, and if I think I’ve done less than my best to try to make sure that didn’t happen, I’m going to feel even worse.
Swing states in this presidential election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Is it legal? Here’s an answer from the FAQ page of swapyourvote.org:
Is vote swapping legal?
Yes, 100%. The Ninth Circuit Court determined in the 2007 case Porter v. Bowen that efforts in 2000 to swap votes were constitutionally protected by the First Amendment. Vote swapping (or “vote pairing”) has been practiced in presidential elections in the US since 2000, most notably in 2016 and 2020 to counter Trump, in Canada, and in the UK, such as the Forward Democracy project. We were also able to consult election lawyers on our specific implementation, and they confirmed that vote-swapping is legal and constitutionally protected.
Importantly, vote swapping involves no financial exchange. It’s more of a conversation and a pledge to one another. Both the swing state voter and the safe state voter agree to a political coalition-building strategy that advances their interests, which is similar to many other common political deals. See wikipedia on vote pairing.
I’d love it if you’d consider it. Thank you!
