Since its inception in 1995, eBay has served as the forum for several controversial online auctions. Users have attempted with varying degrees of success to sell everything from a partially-eaten grilled cheese sandwich to their own organs for transplant. Just last month, Ian Usher, a man from Western Australia, sold his entire life (e.g., house, cars, friends, and job) on eBay for a whopping $384,000.
The American Internet company lives up to its slogan, "Whatever it is, you can get it on eBay." However, some sellers have discovered that not every auction comes without consequences. Max P. Sanders, a 19-year-old student from the University of Minnesota, learned this when he recently tried to sell his vote for the 2008 presidential election on the online auction Web site.
On May 28, allegedly using the eBay username "zepdrummer612," Sanders created an online auction listing, which read in part:
"I am having trouble deciding who to vote for in the Presidential Election, so I am putting my vote up for sale. I am a legal resident of the state of Minnesota, and I am 19 years old. I am legally allowed to vote, and I have already voted in one previous election. The rules are simple, the highest bigger will tell me who to cast my vote for in the election. I will vote for any candidate of any party, as long as they are on the ballot. If the highest bidder so chooses, I will also abstain from voting, if that is what they so choose. To prove that I will actually vote for the candidate of the highest bidder's choice, I will photograph myself inside the voting booth with my filled out ballot. Good luck! You're country depends on You!" [sic throughout]
When the auction ended on June 4, no one had placed a bid. Nonetheless, Sanders managed to draw the attention of the California Secretary of State's Office. Officials contacted the Hennepin County Attorney, who subsequently subpoenaed eBay's records for zepdrummer612 and identified the seller as Max Sanders.
According to an affidavit obtained by Twincities.com, Michael Atkinson, an investigator for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, called Sanders on June 18 and questioned him about the eBay listing.
"Defendant Max P. Sanders confirmed the vote-soliciting posting described herein by zepdrummer612 was him by stating, 'That was a joke. It's no longer listed,'" Atkinson reported in the affidavit.
Regardless of Sanders' intent, Minnesota law prohibits voters from soliciting, receiving, or accepting "money, property, or other things of monetary value" for a vote. As a result, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office has charged Sanders with a felony offense for "bribery, treating, and soliciting."
"We want elections to be about ideas, and not who has the biggest pocketbook," Deputy Hennepin County Attorney Pat Diamond stated in an interview with Charlottesvillenewsplex.tv.
Although I agree with Diamond, it is difficult to maintain such a philosophy in the age of the "super delegate," given that one of them did something very similar to Sanders just a few months ago. In May, super delegate Steven Ybarra offered to sell his vote for $20 million, money which he stated would be used to register and to educate Mexican-American voters.
When asked by CBS13.com if selling his vote was the right thing to do, Ybarra responded, "Yeah, absolutely. People do it all the time."
Although that might be true, Sanders is facing up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. I guess it is true that "what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander."