Oregon Vote Swapper

Dan Carol is a Democratic political strategist and a founding partner of CTSG (www.ctsg.com),a progressive consulting firm based in Eugene and Washington, D.C. writes his views onvote "swapping" in Oregon in the Eugene Weekly. A satirical way to look at the importance of swing state voters in this year's presidental elections.

Vote Swap '04
Let the games begin.
BY DAN CAROL

This column is all about love and voting. The stars of this romantic entanglement, however, are not Hugh Grant, Pierce Brosnan or Emma Thompson. No sirree, it's you, Ralph Nader, and some mysterious stranger you haven't even met. Disgusted? Confused? Turned on a little? Let me explain.

Perhaps you remember late in 2000, when an enterprising group of left-wing techies launched The Nader Trader site — allowing voters a chance to strategically "swap" Nader and Gore votes in states where the electoral outcome was obvious.

The theory was (and still is) pretty smart: Green voters want to show Democrats their true numbers, to get a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Vote swapping allows this to happen, without turning Green voters into spoilers. Everybody wins, except for George Bush.

Vote swapping doesn't involve arguing, yelling, or shaming Nader voters into holding their nose when they vote. What it does require are thoughtful peer-to-peer conversations, trust, and maybe just a little love between distant strangers who are basically kinfolk in the same tribe.

Sound good so far? You bet it does. Of course, the $64,000 question still looms large: just how do you find a vote-swapping partner? And will doing that be as painful as your first dance in junior high?

Never fear.

As Oregon voters in a key swing state, I gotta tell you that we are pretty hot property on the vote swapping scene. The fact is Desperate Democrats in Dixie states will do just about anything to swap with a Duck who is ready to Ralph. Making multiple connections won't be hard either — websites will soon be popping up all over the place so you'll have your pick of partners (and most experts believe that legal roadblocks thrown up by some states in 2000 will be easily surmounted this year).

But why wait for Internet dates — you're creative and good-looking right? For example, why not find your special voting friend using the personal ads? Let me show you how. Here's a draft of my ad (now awaiting spousal sign-off):

LWM, 46, IS SEEKING OUT (ISO) GREEN VOTER FOR ONE-TIME SWAP, NO PERMANENT COMMITMENT NECESSARY. Me: Into a smarter war on terrorism, living wage, The Apollo Alliance, a global commitment to girls' education and winning elections. Will consider three-way swaps under special circumstances. You: Live in a "red state" that the Democrats will never win, like Alabama or Kentucky. You can like Nader or Kerry, but mainly I need you to dislike Bush. I'll trust you to vote Nader. Trust me, I'm voting for John Kerry. No photo necessary — I'm happily married.

Looking for a vote-swapping relationship with more long-term potential than I am? No worries. How about posting something a bit more mysterious like this:

BROADWAY BLUES. I saw you at the corner of Willamette and Broadway. You were wearing a "Ralph Rules" hat. I was driving a Honda with a Kerry bumper sticker. Our eyes met for an instant — then you looked away. Can't we try again?

Still feeling too shy to try? Remember it's also your job to encourage others to vote swap — no reason to keep a good thing secret.

Here's an ad I'm encouraging a friend of mine from Texas to post, to hook up with a hard-core Nader supporter in Oregon:

YDD (Yellow Dog Democrat) STUCK IN CRAWFORD ISO OREGON ANARCHIST FOR A VOTE SWAP QUICKIE. You: are into breakfast at Keystone and vegan muffins but respect my love of grits and grazing animals. Together we're 53 million votes to Bush's 50 million. Whaddaya say?

All kidding aside, vote swapping is an interesting mechanism worth considering in some cases (and some places) to ensure that Democrats and Greens do vote, and vote strategically. The idea won't work for everyone, but that's OK. We've got five months to work out the kinks, make friends and vote-swap if it feels right. In the meantime, love the one you're with.