eBay thwarts sale of presidential election votes By Bloomberg News August 17, 2000, 4:55 p.m. PT URL: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-2549827.html eBay said it halted at least four auctions by people trying to sell their votes in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Yahoo also was investigating a vote up for bid on its auction site. eBay said several people alerted it about an auction in which the seller set initial bidding at $1. At least three other auctions with similar offers were taken down today, said Kevin Pursglove, eBay's spokesman. The auction site's guidelines prohibit the sale of illegal items. In the past, eBay has pulled offensive offerings from its auction listings, including seats at a death row inmate's execution and a rifle allegedly salvaged from the Branch Davidian compound siege seven years ago. Yahoo, the giant portal, also forbids the sale of illegal merchandise. A listing from a seller in Cortland, N.Y., posted an auction yesterday for the sale of a vote. "You may specify whom I vote for in the presidential and all other elections in my district by name or by party," said the posting by a seller who goes by the name "celebpikz." An initial price of $5 was requested with bid increments of 10 cents each. "Why should the American Citizen be left out? Congressmen and Senators regularly sell THEIR votes to the highest bidder!" Pursglove said it was unknown if some of the sellers on eBay were serious or trying to pull a practical joke. eBay said it is cooperating with agencies investigating the situation, including the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission. Copyright 2000, Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. --- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- TOO MUCH DEBT? Let this nonprofit help you lower your credit card interest charges and consolidate your payments without a loan. If you have $5000 in credit card debt, click here. http://click.topica.com/aaaav5b1dhr0b1uN1Ic/Edebt ------------------------------------------------------------ to unsubscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to subscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] more good stuff at http://theMezz.com/alerts ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
