Does vote pairing contradict the spirit of “one person, one vote”?
There simply is no violation of the spirit of “one person, one vote.” When each voter goes into the voting booth, he or she votes his or her conscience, taking into consideration all the facts important to that individual, including whether or not to abide by a vote pairing agreement. The ultimate vote cast is an expression of the individual’s own political preferences. To say this violates the spirit of “one person, one vote” in essence argues that a voter may not consider all possible reasons for casting a vote one way or another. Legally, only in the narrow circumstances where the incentive offered to a voter is extraneous to his or her political interests (such as a monetary payment) can he or she be forbidden from considering that incentive when casting their vote.
Related Questions
- Could George Bush supporters sabotage the vote pairing effort to help Bush while hurting John Kerry, David Cobb, Ralph Nader or Michael Badnarik?
- Since electors are not allocated on a winner-take-all basis in Maine and Nebraska, can Maine and Nebraska voters participate in vote pairing?
- Does vote pairing contradict the spirit of "one person, one vote"?
