Sgt. Angle

I hope this question isn't inappropriate. I saw a thing a while back on CNN and they were asking people on the street how much their vote is worth. Some people said they would give their vote away for just an Ipod or expensive shoes.
So how valuable is your vote to you? Would you put a price on it or is it priceless to you? If you could sell your vote, what would be your asking price? Would it be wrong to sell your vote to presidential candidates?

Sorry if that title sucks. If someone wants to change it and make it sound cooler then it's okay with me.

Jerry D

I don't think it's right for anyone to sell their vote, but I'm sure it happens.

Sgt. Angle

I would 100 percent sell my vote for a good price. If Obama would give me at least 200k, I would give him my vote in a heartbeat. The same offer goes to McCain. The reason why it would be easy for me to sell my vote is because my vote doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter because the electoral college has the final say on who will be the next president. Just because you win the popular vote does not mean you will become president.

sm_love_dc

I have to agree with part of the electoral college issue. I think that Florida in 2000 killed alot of trust in 'your vote counts.' I am in the middle of US voting and Canadian voting. Here we do not vote for a party but for a riding (sort of a county.) The problem is if you like the canidate in your riding but cannot stand the leader of the party. In the US you vote for a President, in Canada we only vote for a MP (member of Parliment), and that party elects a leader without the imput of most Canadians.

Your vote counts more towards a leader, we don't get that chance. Don't take it for granted. Although I do have to say, since we electe locally our issues tend to be more domestic, and that is an advantage over the US.

migamoo

Every vote matters. Why? Because YOU are casting your choice of who YOU want to run this country/state/whatever. Even if the person you voted for doesn't win, you still played a part and should take some pride in that. You did your duty as a citizen and did the best you could.

We don't exactly vote for MPs but we do have local elections also. Each state has governments so in a way, it could be similar.

Jerry, I agree. No one really should sell their vote, it's theirs to use to vote, no one elses. Now I'm not going to disagree that there can be wasted votes, because there surely are. But selling a vote? Totally wrong. It's there for a person to cast their choice for something, and no one else's.

vc318

I kind of agree. I'm not saying it's right to sell your vote but you do sort of feel unheard at times.

MethodicWays

I think it depends on the stakes of the election, my personal financial situation, and where I am in life.

For instance, if the election was between two relatively similar candidates, I was young and poor to the point that I wasn't sure when or where my next meal was coming from, I might sell my vote for 200k.

But if it were the current election, i had a relatively good income and a family to worry about, you couldn't make me sell my vote for anything.

I don't like to think that I could be bought for anything but there probably is a situation where just about anyone could be bought off. Not for an iPod or Louboutins though.

rose parade

If a vote is really that unimportant, why would Obama offer you 200k for that one vote in the first place?

MethodicWays

Touche

Sgt. Angle

Obama hasn't offered me any money for my vote. I was just saying that he was going to pay me for my vote, that my asking price would be at least 200k.
You should be allowed to get something for your vote. I would rather get some money then just have a candidate make outrageous promises that he/she never follows through on. I just wish the candidates would be honest and tell us that in the long run, our votes don't really matter. The only ones that matter are big whigs who decide who the next president is.

MethodicWays

I don't think you're getting it. If your vote doesn't count than no one would pay for it. By admitting that you can set a monetary value on your vote, you are saying that it has worth, and that doesn't follow your logic of the vote not counting. Your vote has to count in order for it to be worth money even a small amount.

Jerry D

I completely agree that the Electoral College System is antiquated and it should be done away with, but I still think it's important to vote.

migamoo

Right. Personally I think the popular vote should decide who's president. That way the people actually have more of a say in who they want.

Sgt. Angle

My vote doesn't count but if Obama or McCain is stupid enough to offer me at least 200k to vote for one of them, then I would say "deal". I would sell out for at least 200k.

migamoo

Every vote counts, why don't you think yours is special enough not too?