# Buying Votes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200 "2000-11-08T00:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yamo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e19b73/32.png) [@yamo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yamo1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/1 "2000-11-08T00:06:04Z")
California Attorny General went after a vote swap web site because state law prohibits exchanging a vote for any thing-even another vote. But ‘get out the vote’ efforts offered free car washes and Georgia offered a lottery ticket to win a shotgun. Is not this also offering a bribe to vote regardless that for whom one votes is not part of the illegal exchange? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/2 "2000-11-08T00:20:09Z")
The California crackdown was in line with prior California practice. In California, a bakery had to stop a promotion where you would get a free donut if you showed your stub from voting. I think that the voteswapping website crackdown was actually initiated by the Secretary of State of California and not the Attorney General. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/3 "2000-11-08T00:29:06Z")
yamo - I think that there is a big difference between the two. In the “vote swapping” you are promising a specific vote. That is what the laws are against. In the “get the vote out” promotions they are just trying to get people to vote, not to vote for a specific candidate. If they gave you a free car wash for voting for Al Gore it would be illegal. If they give you a free car wash for voting for who ever you wanted they it is okay. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/4 "2000-11-08T00:35:17Z")
But in California, you can’t give away anything in consideration for voting. You can’t even use inducements to get to people to the polls. It’s frowned upon out here. ---
**Author:** ![yamo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e19b73/32.png) [@yamo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yamo1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/5 "2000-11-08T01:33:56Z")
But if i offered the incentive only to particular areas couldn’t i manipulate the outcome of an election? ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/6 "2000-11-08T13:53:38Z")
A few days ago our student newspaper printed a link to [Nader Trader](http://www.nadertrader.org/), which apparently was designed to help Gore win in highly contested states while still allowing Nader to get 5 percent of the vote. Was this the site the California Attorney General went after? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-votes/40200/7 "2000-11-08T19:59:03Z")
> [@](#): > > …Georgia offered a lottery ticket to win a shotgun. 'Scuse me? I live and vote in Georgia and have never heard of this practice. Got any specifics? I want my shotgun.