Vote-swapping site aims to defeat Tories

NEWS A vote-swapping site which encourages people to vote tactically in order to prevent the Conservatives winning the forth-coming general election has been launched this week. Users wishing to vote tactically are registered on the site -- www.tacticalvoter.net -- and paired up via email with someone who is returning the favour by voting tactically in their area. Users pledge to vote tactically for the candidate most likely to defeat the Conservative candidate in their constituency and the site will keep a running total of how many people are voting for which party. Online voting has long been touted as a way of increasing democracy but to date all governments have shied away from implementing it, claiming the security risks are too high. However many political campaigns have found a new lease of life via the Net, notably the anti-capitalist marches in both London and Seattle which were co-ordinated largely online. The idea for the site was inspired by a online campaign during the US presidential election. Nadertrader.org and votetrader.org had 1,500 Greens pledging to vote Democrat in Florida. According to tacticalvoter.net if the sites had started a few weeks earlier, they might have gathered the small number of extra swappers needed to keep George Bush out of the Whitehouse. According to the Web site vote-swappers have "nothing to lose but a Tory MP". "There are dozens of UK seats with majorities of under 2000 that could very easily be swung by voteswappers -- contributing to a historic Tory meltdown that might bring them to their senses and stop the party dragging British politics towards the right," reads the introduction to the site. The Conversative party has been outraged by the site and called on the Electoral Commission to investigate immediately. However, according to the Electoral Commission the site is perfectly legitimate. "There is nothing illegal about it. People are entitled to use their vote in any way they wish," a spokesman told ZDNet News. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the ZDNet News forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read other letters.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Online Fiber Optic Certification Join a talented group of professionals, who are dedicated to Fiber Optic Networking technology. The online course...

1 hour ago by chaycon1 on BT launches 40Mbps fibre-based broadband

Online Fiber Optic Certification Join a talented group of professionals, who are dedicated to Fiber Optic Networking technology. The online course...

1 hour ago by chaycon1 on Google to build gigabit broadband to the home

Hi Dava, I'm glad to hear from you, and glad that you see things from the other side. I think that is the most important point of the whole...

1 hour ago by J.A. Watson on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest

please please please please please please kill that spam bot.

2 hours ago by dava4444 on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way

2 hours ago by 253chelisa253 on How security will look in 10 years

it is only greedy[microsoft]?

4 hours ago by lezlow on Researchers break into BitLocker

it didn't post the link it's 'Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Beta-1 First Look' on youtube :) Dava

5 hours ago by dava4444 on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest

Hi James I disagree, Ubuntu needs a GUI update and this one IMO is quite good. your pics show a low res. here's a high res. on YouTube* The...

5 hours ago by dava4444 on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest

Hi any news on the comment bot? knocking me back from my own blog is a bit cheeky lol *Mulder to Scully* "I think it has an agenda.." I know, I...

6 hours ago by dava4444 on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way

if you look at the Brentwood exchange on samknows it servers 21,000 residential propertiesm, Lowestoft serves 31,000! Come on BT sort yourselves...

6 hours ago by benny boy on BT fibre broadband coming to 69 more towns

[programming] H.264 - a sting in the tail http://reddit.com/bfu4q [zdnet.co.uk]

8 hours ago on Twitter by pbreddit

H.264 - a sting in the tail [programming] 13 points, submitted by zigzag [zdnet.co.uk] http://reddit.com/bfu4q

9 hours ago on Twitter by reddit

Malware infects second Vodafone HTC phone: [zdnet.co.uk] A second Android-based HTC Magic from Vodafone has been... http://dlvr.it/KhKx

11 hours ago on Twitter by cybfor

Chatter preview http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/application-development/2010/03/17/salesforce-opens-up-chatter-developer-preview-40088348/

11 hours ago on Twitter by miyabi81

US gov t considers undercover social networking: [zdnet.co.uk] The Obama administration has considered sending... http://dlvr.it/Kh3L

11 hours ago on Twitter by cybfor

Please give me chance in the vodafone essar Ltd as back office executive

13 hours ago by sudipta_vodafone on Vodafone culls 375 'mainly back-office' jobs

I want to get a back office job in vodafone direct payroll

13 hours ago by sudipta_vodafone on Vodafone culls 375 'mainly back-office' jobs

I also find it harder to use. It used to scale properly in Firefox. Text would size up and down without dragging all the right edge debris with it....

17 hours ago by Xwindowsjunkie on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way

that comment bot is a nutter, it just referred me to the moderator on my own blog. shocked look. please help thank you Dava I'm afriad to...

20 hours ago by dava4444 on Welcome to the new ZDNet UK community!

Hi Rupert! Don't think I could fill the above shoes... but if your ever looking for a consumer rights Tech blogger..tip me the wink lol peace Dava

21 hours ago by dava4444 on Fancy working for ZDNet UK?

Featured white papers

Achieving PCI Compliance for:Privileged Password Management & Remote Vendor Access

e-DMZ Security

For multi-store outlets, including retail, banking, grocery, gas, hospitality, convenience stores and others, reducing (or avoiding) the cost of in-store system support and maintenance while maintaining compliance with PCI and other requirements has become a strategic challenge.

Download now

Web 2.0 Security Threats: How to Protect Your Enterprise Network

Qualys

Speaker: Dr. Chenxi Wang, Principal Analyst, Security and Risk Management, Forrester Research, Inc. As Enterprises are increasingly connected to the Internet and as hard organizational boundaries are fast disappearing, security professionals are facing fresh challenges in Enterprise computing.

Download now