Court: Calif. wrong to shut down 'vote-swapping' sites in 2000

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Court: Calif. wrong to shut down 'vote-swapping' sites in 2000
By Paul Elias, Associated Press Writer  |  August 6, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO—California wrongly shut down Web sites that brokered vote trading between backers of 2000 presidential candidates Al Gore and Ralph Nader days before the closest presidential election in U.S. history, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state violated the First Amendment because it was not offering to buy or sell votes and provided education on the Electoral College.

"I don't know if it's too late or just in time," said Brenda Wright, a lawyer for the Boston-based National Voting Rights Institute that argued the case in court. "It certainly has taken a long time, but we are very glad to get it straightened out for the upcoming election."

For four days in October 2000, the California-based Web site http://www.voteswap2000.com arranged nationwide vote trading between supporters of Gore, then the Democratic vice president, and Nader, of the Green Party. The idea was that a pro-Nader liberal in a state like Oregon, where polls showed Gore and Bush neck-and-neck, could find a Gore supporter in a state like Texas, where Bush was sure to win. The two would promise each other to swap votes.

In four days, the site signed up 5,000 voters.

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