The news behind the Net

Chicago acts to end online sale of votes

By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY

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"Vote early, vote often." Chicago is not proud of having birthed that phrase. Officials have worked for decades to erase it from the lexicon, or at least remove it as far as possible from association with Chicago.

That's why the city is aiming its legal guns at controversial Web site VoteAuction.com, which advertises that it allows people to buy or sell their votes. The city's Board of Elections plans to file a lawsuit this week to stop Chicago residents from being able to buy or sell their votes online.

Technically, buying or selling votes is illegal everywhere in this country. Any jurisdiction could go after VoteAuction.com, which was founded by a New York law student, who then sold it to an Australian businessman. New York City acted when the site launched earlier this summer, and as a consequence, New Yorkers are technically barred from participating. That's what Chicago wants, although it would be even happier if the whole site would go away.

"We're very sensitive in Chicago to this type of issue," says Langdon Neal, chairman of the Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners. "It undermines the entire electoral process, which goes to the foundation of our democracy."

Suing in cyberspace is often a touchy legal subject. U.S. elections officials have bristled at this site in particular because of its overseas ownership. That makes the suit complicated but not impossible, Neal says.

Neal also has asked the Department of Justice to look into the issue on a national level.

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Legal or not, VoteAuction.com claims that the sale goes on: 521 unidentified people in Illinois have agreed to sell their presidential votes; top anonymous bid for them is $8,500, so each voter would get $16.31. Incidentally, Michigan voters each would get the most money, at $31.47 per person.

Americans not ready to cast votes online

A lot of political sites have been weighing in on the elections, and a lot of Americans are turning to the Net to get information. So why not cast your votes there?

It's not ready yet, at least in the perception of the public, according to a new study. A Hart-Teeter study for the non-profit Council for Excellence in Government found that 59% of Americans are opposed to online voting; 66% are "very concerned" about hackers breaking into government sites; and 55% are "very concerned" about misuse of personal information.

That doesn't mean Americans aren't eager to avoid the long lines and paper shuffling at most government offices: 68% think that investing tax dollars in e-government should be a "priority." The study includes surveys of 150 government officials, 155 business leaders and 1,003 members of the public.