He also dismissed critics who say voting should remain a private concern. I think it s perfectly OK for people to talk with one another as to how they re going to vote, and what makes sense for the common good, Raskin said. I think the Internet can recapture some of the public dialogue that we ve lost in the last several decades that should be an important ingredient in campaigns. It doesn t surprise me that it s a threatening development to the would-be bosses of the political system. Since no one would be held accountable for his or her vote, the swap is only as good as a virtual handshake.
Conspiracy theories are part of the game.
Messages posted on VoteExchange.org warned users that Nader supporters were falsely promising to exchange their votes. But no foolproof method exists. Most of the sites provide each person with a potential partner s e-mail address. The matched pair is then encouraged to communicate with each other to confirm that the swap will take place. That s our main way of trying to make sure that everybody is legitimate and trying to use this for the purpose it was intended, said Cody.