Vote Auction News Report

Three weeks from the general election, California's Secretary of State is cracking down on voter fraud. Bill Jones, who is in charge of elections in California, says people are using the Internet to try to sway votes. Jones is calling this one of the most egregious cases of voter fraud he's ever seen. Jones showed off a site that offers voters around the country money for their votes. Campaigns and candidates could go to the site to bid for blocks of votes. The price per vote here in California was $19.61. Jones has promised to go after everyone involved -- people who bought votes as well as those who sold them."I feel very strongly about it," Jones told reporters this morning. "I think that anyone who would consider agreeing or discussing this type of activity needs to understand we're pursuing this effort and will prosecute anyone we find to the fullest extent of the law." Investigators say the site was started by a New York graduate student. After it was shut down there it was sold to a man in Austria. Officials have told him that what he's doing is illegal and Attorney General Janet Reno has been asked to get involved in the case.It is not known whether any elections were actually affected by the site.

Adult Education Office, California Department of Education Sacramento County Office of Education All Rights Reserved © 2001