By Marcie Jessee
Every vote counts is a statement that is made often, but it can be hard to swallow for Democrats in states like Utah, where Republican majority rules in the upcoming presidential elections.
So 20 political activists have created a Web site, www.votepair.com, where voters supporting Kerry can ensure that their vote counts by vote swapping.
Vote swapping allows a Kerry supporter in a predominantly 'Bush Safe' state to trade their vote with a third party supporter from a swing state.
For example, if a Utahn would like to vote for Kerry, VotePair will match up that Utahn with a voter in a swing state, such as Ohio, who would like to vote for a third party candidate. The voter from Utah would trade votes and vote for the third party candidate, while the person from Ohio would vote for Kerry.
'Democrats in Utah are the perfect audience for this because their votes have not meant anything in a presidential election in a very long time,' said Jamin Raskin, one of the Web site creators. 'This is a way that they can say if they like both Kerry and Nader, vote for Nader and make sure someone in a swing state votes for Kerry.'
VotePair determines what is a 'swing' state by consulting electoral-vote.com, the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The Web site and newspapers use slightly different criteria to determine swing states, Raskin said. These precautions are taken to ensure that votes are going to the states that can benefit from them the most.
' to form an interstate coalition of progressive voters to make sure that progressives in swing states vote for Kerry, and that equivalent support is registered for Nader and Cobb in safe republican states,' Raskin said.
In the 2000 election, there were similar Web sites to VotePair. Various Web sites recorded 36,000 people registered to participate in a vote swap. But because of the legality surrounding vote swapping, Web sites were forced to shut down before the election took place.
'There was a claim made by some Republican secretaries of state that this was vote buying and vote selling, which is absurd because no money or anything of material value changes hands,' Raskin said.
But vote pairing is not the same as vote buying. Votepair has already paired around 2,000 people around the nation for the 2004 election, Raskin said.
Although the number of 'vote pairing' participants is less than the number during the 2000 election, Raskin said he feels that the organization can still make a difference.
'This time it has gotten off to a slower start,' Raskin said. 'I think the pool of potential Nader and Green Party voters is smaller than it was last time but it''s still significant and a possibly critical factor,' Raskin said.
However, other Democrats are not so sure that VotePair will make a difference in this election. Executive Director of the Utah Democratic Party, Arlyn Bradshaw, said that he feels vote swapping is more on the periphery and will not make a difference in the election.
Although many Utah Democrats like Bradshaw voice their frustration of the electoral process, they still feel like their vote counts here in Utah, Bradshaw said.
The Democratic Party is energized for this election and feel like the outcome will be in their favor, Bradshaw said.
Jake Stone, a junior from Salt Lake City, majoring in English, said he will be voting for Kerry this November, but he would rather keep his vote here in Utah.
'I feel like that is manipulating the system, and that your vote should count where you live,' Stone said. 'I think it''s like you''re giving up on your state and trying to make a change for what you believe. You''re just saying Utah will never swing Democratic so I might as well shift my vote somewhere else.'
Bradshaw added he would vote for the person he wants for president regardless of party affiliation and what state he lives in.