Kellner indicated that the New York City Board of Elections will meet this week to decide whether to open an investigation into Voteauction participants within the five New York metro-area boroughs.

"There's nothing we can do to him," Kellner said of Baumgartner. "That's in the hands of the Rensselaer County District Attorney."

Kris Thompson, a spokesman for Rensselaer County District Attorney Kenneth R. Bruno declined to elaborate on any plans for to pursue legal action.

"This is very new stuff," he said. "We've never really ventured into something like this before."

Baumgartner, who created Voteaction.com as the subject of a master's thesis, said he intends to do no more with the site and was uncertain what his next step will be in developing the academic project. He speculated that he may simply center his thesis around the outpouring of press, publicity, and public outcry that his site generated.

Nevertheless, the site itself appears to have a life beyond Baumgartner's plans. Solicited by an Austrian investor over the weekend, Baumgartner said he has taken steps to sell Voteauction itself. However, the purchaser's plans for Voteauction.com remain unclear. Attempts to reach the reported buyer proved fruitless.

Baumgartner sees the immediate public and prosecutorial reaction to Voteauction as a confirmation that his idea resonated with the American public. "I got 80,000 hits on Thursday and Friday alone," Baumgartner said. "I think that that along with what was going on with eBay and Yahoo auctions shows that this is something people are really concerned about: If the politicians are selling their votes -- and they clearly are -- then the people should be allowed to as well."