If it were legal, how much would it take to buy your vote?

[MasterMischief]

Setting up a 'vote economy', where votes can be bought and traded and sold:  I just don't see how it would be feasible for a candidate to purchase enough votes to make a difference.  It's much more cost-effective to gain the votes by other means.

Like lobbies?

[Callie Del Noire]

Here's the way I see it:  Anyone buying my right to vote (if I'm the only one) is going to have to make it worth my while - not just for now, but in perpetuity.  I would need something very valuable in return.  Hence the 'soul' comment.  (If I have the candidate's soul, presumably I have a bit of influence, yes?  Assuming that they have one.)

Setting up a 'vote economy', where votes can be bought and traded and sold:  I just don't see how it would be feasible for a candidate to purchase enough votes to make a difference.  It's much more cost-effective to gain the votes by other means.

Actually it was sorta done.. a lot of big cities did that in the 1800s and beyond.. Tammany Hall (of Boss Tweed fame) got a lot of their strength and influence from working blocks of votes.. they did favors for folks in exchange for voting as they wanted. And they weren't the only ones.

[Denivar]

where every citizen of your country can sell their voting rights

I think an interesting (and somewhat cynical) question is, in such a country, what would the market price of a vote settle at? My prediction is not very much, perhaps a few hundred dollars for one to permanently forgo their right to vote.

How much would it take for me personally? I'm ashamed to admit, probably only a few thousand dollars. :-/

[Oniya]

I think an interesting (and somewhat cynical) question is, in such a country, what would the market price of a vote settle at? My prediction is not very much, perhaps a few hundred dollars for one to permanently forgo their right to vote.

How much would it take for me personally? I'm ashamed to admit, probably only a few thousand dollars. :-/

You do need to consider that in the country format, it's possible to re-purchase your right to vote, just by finding someone willing to sell theirs.  In other words, it's not a permanent loss.

[Shadax]

I think with both situations - only me selling or everyone selling - I would not sell my vote. For anything. However, if everyone were selling, I would start to buy votes. First from people who don't care so I don't have to pay much, then I would work my way up the ladder of voting power until people started to pay me to swing my massive number of votes their way (I would only vote for things I believed in anyway, but the cash is nice regardless.). Then I just keep buying more and more so I can huge power to finally get some decent changes made. I like that plan...

[Solstice]

Only me selling:
An amount high enough that it does not feel insulting. I might get more use out of $0.95 (hey, that's an apple at the supermarket) than my one vote, but frankly the offer's a bit offensive. $50 would probably do, that's gas for a month.

Everyone selling:
Mmm, depends. Ignoring the option of, say, moving to a swing state, and selling it before a major election... eh... Several thousand. Probably nobody would buy at that price, but, eh, whatever.

Though I must say, the latter situation sort of sounds like a libertarian dream. But, maybe that's just my cynicism talking.