Not a thread about how much it would take to persuade Dopers to change their vote (although if someone wants to comment on that in this thread, feel welcome to) - but if some unscrupulous billionaire went about trying to buy votes to get the average American voter to vote for the opposing party/candidate that they would normally vote for - in such a way that the voter felt 100% confidence that they would never be caught by the law - how much would it take?
(For added permutation, how much would it take to buy the vote of a diehard D or R so that they vote for the opposing side?)
$100
Easily, I’ve seen what the average American will do to save .03 a gallon on a fill-up
I’m assuming we are talking presidential.
Depending on the exact aspect , between 1/3 and half of all Americans believe who is president doesn’t affect them much anyhow
None of the above really. Even if it was several million, I’d still be ill at ease being a rich man in an increasingly poor country.
My “other” vote would be: Instead of trying buying off my vote, just be less of a greedy plutocrat and let us get ahead to the tune of a lousy 3 or 4 percent a year.
Even if you live in a swing state that is likely to be a kingmaker state, your individual vote has virtually zero chance of making a difference. With the assumption made in the hypothetical that you will get away with it, the most rational thing to do is sell your vote for $100. I certainly would, and don’t see a majority of people turning down free money. Of course in the real world, there is no guarantee that you’ll get away with it, and no way for your “benefactor” to ensure you vote the “right” way.
I used to live in Hoboken, New Jersey, and the price for a vote there was in the $20 to 40 range. This was less of a “change your vote” situation, and more of a “get you to vote” situation. It was only helpful in local elections where 400 to 500 votes could swing an election for the city council. I think that $100 way overestimates how little an average voter would take to change their vote.
I voted $1,000 – less because I believe in the civil diligence of my fellow man and more because I could see some people not wanting to risk being in an election fraud scandal for a hundred bucks.
During the primaries before the 2016 presidential election we had this discussion at the bar over beers. Several guys said they didn’t vote, but would vote for whichever candidate they were asked to vote for in exchange for a draft.
I voted wrong; I went 100 or less and I meant to go 1000 or less. From the people I know I’m betting a lot could be had at the $100 level but I am pretty sure most could be had for say $500 or less. Some depends on the candidates and some the race (are we talking POTUS or mayor?) but so many people are of the feeling that their vote doesn’t really count in the end that I can see them being willing to sell it off. Heck, I can see certain races out there where even I would consider it.
You drink fancier places than I do; for me it would be more like three bucks.
For once, I’m more of a cynic than the rest of the Dope. I expected the poll choices to be something like:
$1.00
$5.00
$10.00
$20.00
$50.00
$100.00
Before I opened the thread I was planning to choose $5.00. The majority of people I know complain a lot about politics, but don’t really care that much about the actual voting process. Some even brag about never voting and how it doesn’t matter. I think they’d be willing to sell their vote for a cup of coffee.
Now, suppose the average American voter happened to hold the one deciding vote in their hands that would decide the entire election outcome - let’s say, it’s the swing state of Ohio, and the vote is 2,999,999 for the Democrat and 2,999,999 for the Republican and it’s *all down to that one voter *- how much money to get him or her to vote the opposite way of what they normally would?
I’ll repeat my answer. It depends on who the actual candidates are. In a normal election, the country will be okay either way, but there would be obviously some policies differences of import. If someone like Trump is on the ballot, the stakes are through the roof. The voter would have to be quite indifferent about our nation to allow a vote to be bought for any price in that situation.
Probably depends on the voter. Is it a hard-core partisan? If so, the price is going to be very high. If it’s someone who votes based on who looks cutest, or flips a coin to decide, or one of the myriad other “reasons” various low-information voters use to decide, it’s probably not all that high, but “the opposite way of what they normally would” may not hold much significance.
At that point I wouldn’t even entertain the offer. I’d just look the buyer squarely in the face and cast my vote without a word. They’ll know soon enough how it went, but nothing could buy the satisfaction of knowing I’d made the devil feel completely impotent. But yeah, the average person? Maybe $10 and a free Big Mac.
Maybe I’m just too cynical but I think that even in the Trump era the average American voter would be willing to sway the entire presidential outcome for $50,000 or less.
