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CNN) -- An Internet site designed to auction U.S. presidential votes could reopen days after New York authorities convinced its American creator to shut it down, said a maverick Austrian businessman who bought the domain name.
Hans Bernhard said his holding company would operate voteauction.com outside the United States to circumvent federal and state laws that forbid purchasing and
buying ballots.
"Our lawyers are evaluating the situation. The Web site should be up in the next 24 to 48 hours," Bernhard said Thursday. "We still have the option to go offshore if there are legal problems."
Bernhard did not give the name of the holding company. But the e-mail address listed with his domain registration belongs to a Vienna-based group that specializes in unorthodox e-commerce services and works with a variety of Internet companies.
Ubermorgen.com "is a network of flexible digital uber-brains," reads the company Web site, which offers headhunting and investments as well as "guerilla marketing, shock marketing and drama marketing."
Bernhard said he and his European associates might need time to become familiar with U.S. elections and laws, but Bernhard seems to have an idea about U.S. commerce.
"We bought the domain name and related business because we see this as a serious business venture in which we can make money."
Critics think he and others trying to auction ballots on the Internet are making a moral mess of the voting process.
"The age of Internet voter fraud is here sooner and in more sinister form than even I imagined," said Deborah Phillips, an activist group that specializes in Internet and democracy issues.
"We don't have any moral attitude," Bernhard countered. "We are simply business-oriented. We see how the U.S. system works. There's lots of money related to elections. We just come from the other side. We don't go the top down, advertising approach. We take a direct approach with the voter."
James Baumgartner sold the site for an undisclosed price earlier this week. He launched voteauction.com in early August to allow undecided or disillusioned voters to sell their votes to the highest bidder in the November presidential election.
Whoever bid the highest for each state could decide how those participants would vote. The Troy, New York, graduate student had planned for voters to mail him absentee ballots to verify the selections.
Attorney General? I dont think so. Hasnt she made enough non-calls to last the rest of your life?
I'd sell my vote to the Dems for $100K
then go vote Republican anyway - how will they know?
if everybody did that, they'd bankrupt the dems (heehee!)
how is this morally different than Al Gore speaking in front of the elderly, lets say, and promising them more benefits from the federal treasury?
We have another on called Voter News Service where they decide who wins elections.
I think that they are selling absentee ballots.
General question: is it possible for an individual, or state, or federal agency, to find out how I voted ? Is it legal ? If not, what kind of illegality was commited ?
The operation involved the use of absentee ballots, which the voter would fill out and give to the payer for checking and (presumably) mailing.
Legally, no, except as noted below. But there are ways around it if they want to work hard enough - if you vote on one of those paper ballots that run through the scanner, they could find your fingerprints and examine the ballot holding them. Ditto for an absentee ballot. It'd be impossible to do this on any widespread basis, obviously. To do this legally they'd have to allege voter fraud and obtain a warrant - do you recall the infamous Sanchez/Dornan controversy? Just like that. But the real, technical answer to your question...is "yes."
I hope the Attorney General's office is looking into this.
She'll get right on it after she gets to the bottom of Clinton's scandals.
I guess politicians are the only ones allowed to buy votes via socialist programs... I'll take the cash, less paperwork and intrusion.
General question: is it possible for an individual, or state, or federal agency, to find out how I voted ? Is it legal ? If not, what kind of illegality was commited ?
It is not possible, but it is not necessary to enforce the crime to know how you voted since it is the act of forming a contract to vote a certain way which is illegal. The evidence would not be how you actually voted, but the deal you made. What makes the whole thing so pointless is that since it can't be determined how you voted, the purchaser would have nothing but your word as a guarantee that you voted the arranged way and even if he found you didn't, the illegal contract would be unenforcable anyway.
Let's be serious here, the first person to post their vote on e-Bay made an interesting political point about the various ironies of the whole system, a sort of Internet performance art piece, but literal vote selling isn't actually a viable activity. I don't know what they hope to accomplish with this site. It's like telling the same joke over and over again.
I have not seen this anywhere. I hope the Attorney General's office is looking into this. I hate government involvement in the Internet but our Republican system of government needs to be protected. What do you think?
How could this possibly undermine government? Unless of course you think that the cynical humor of it all so seriously undermines government's credibility that it threatens the system. And let's face it, it's one of those things that's funny because it's true.
how is this morally different than Al Gore speaking in front of the elderly, lets say, and promising them more benefits from the federal treasury?
It's morally superior, it's more honest.
What makes the whole thing so pointless is that since it can't be determined how you voted, the purchaser would have nothing but your word as a guarantee that you voted the arranged way
Exactly so, and that's what I find so amusing about the whole thing - someone purchasing your vote has to trust the integrity of someone unethical enough to sell it in the first place. Honor among thieves? "An honest politician is one who stays bought."
You are correct about this being political theater, and it's pretty good political theater at that.
D*mn straight! Our Republican system of government needs to be protected. Only politicians should be able to buy our votes with our money. What's the private sector putting their noses into this? Disgusting!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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