A modern electoral tradition: selling votes on eBay

Ever since the online auction site eBay sprung up 10 years ago as a hub for selling just about everything imaginable, a handful of Americans has tried to sell votes, even though it is illegal.     

"Over the years, every time there is a major election, we have had people attempt to put up a listing. We catch them very quickly," said eBay spokeswoman Catherine England.     

The "tradition" has continued this year, with at least a half dozen attempts so far to sell votes ahead of the 2008 US presidential election, offers that have all been removed from the system. At least one person has been charged with a crime.     

Selling one's vote is prohibited by federal law and also by most states.     

So in order to penalise a 19-year-old student who, in May, posted his vote for sale on eBay for a bid of $10, state authorities in the northern state of Minnesota resorted to a law passed back in 1893, and actively enforced during the Prohibition Era years later, to punish people who tried to sell their votes against alcohol.     

"When we see these listings we definitely take them down," said England.     

The eBay site records about seven million new articles for sale each day and on average posts about 112 million items for sale at any given moment. Given that volume of activity, patrolling for illegal posts presents a challenge.     

"It's possible that someone would put a listing up, it's possible to be up for a couple of hours before we catch it. It's possible that for a brief period of time something might actually be visible on the site," she said.