你的选票“卖”多少钱？加国网民开价

摘要：One Canadian woman figures her vote is worth the price of a movie ticket, but a man would only sell his for a share of the government's budget surplus. 一位妇女表示，她的选票可以值一张电影票的钱；而另一位男士称，他的选票的价格应该等同于买一张躺椅的钱……在加拿大大选来临之际，一家名为“请买我的选票”的网站让选民们为手中的选票明码标价。

Canadians Set Price for Votes in Online Poll

One Canadian woman figures her vote is worth the price of a movie ticket, but a man would only sell his for a share of the government's budget surplus.

Vote selling is illegal in Canada, but Paul Wolfe has found that letting voters post their hypothetical prices on the Internet is a humorous way to learn their thoughts as Canada prepares for the Jan. 23 federal election.

"It's sort of a sideways approach to getting to the real issues," said Mr. Wolfe, one of the creators of the Web site BuyMyVote.ca.

"It actually gets people thinking," said Mr. Wolfe, 34, of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He said the idea started as a conversation among friends, but the aim now was to hear from thousands of people and calculate the "official value" of a Canadian vote.

"What this is, is an expression in free-market democracy," said Mr. Wolfe, who priced his own vote at 140 Canadian dollars, or $122 - what he described as the cost of good restaurant dinner for his family of four. Voters are asked to list the price they would sell their ballot for, and to explain briefly. The site has received 227 responses and more than 85,000 hits since it began Monday, he said.

An Ontario woman, C. O'Neill-Major, who like other participants is identified on the site only by her first initial and last name, compared voting to going to the movies. So she put her price at 10.99 Canadian dollars, or $9.44, the cost of a movie ticket.

"You can't complain about how poor the economy is doing unless you vote," she said. "You can't complain about how bad the movie is unless you paid $10.99 to see it, after all."

D. Deion of Nova Scotia priced his vote at 799 Canadian dollars ($686), which he calculated would be his share of the federal government's budget surplus in 2006, minus one Canadian dollar "to make it look less expensive."

"I don't know who to vote for and I need a new couch," wrote G. Murray from British Columbia to explain her price, 1,300 Canadian dollars ($1,117).

Some people said they would give away their ballot for pennies because they did not believe in voting, but Mr. Wolfe said he was impressed by the comments of people who said they would not sell at any price.

一位妇女表示，她的选票可以值一张电影票的钱；而另一位男士称，他的选票的价格应该等同于买一张躺椅的钱……在加拿大大选来临之际，一家名为“请买我的选票”的网站让选民们为手中的选票明码标价。

据路透社1月6日报道，1月23日即将迎来加拿大大选。买卖选票的行为在加拿大是违法的，但“请买我的选票”网站创始人保罗·乌尔夫解释说，让选民在网上公开自己假想的选票价格，是在大选前观察人们想法的一种幽默的方式。

“请买我的选票”网站提醒网友，买卖选票在现实中是违法的。同时该网站表示，“在网页上留下你对加拿大大选的看法和表达你对洗衣粉价格的看法一样，没有什么不妥。”

身为一名在读研究生，乌尔夫表示：“这（让选民为选票开价）是接近事实真相的一种途径，它能真实地反映出选民的想法。”乌尔夫透露说，让选民为选票开价的主意开始于朋友之间的谈话，但现在的目的是要了解数千选民的想法，以及评估加拿大大选的“官方价值”，“假想地兜售选票是选民在民主政治自由市场下的一种表达方式”。

“请买我的选票”网站希望为加拿大大选结束后的有关报道收集更多的信息，并有可能在下一届美国大选前让美国选民为选票开价。

“请买我的选票”网站要求选民提出对于选票的理想价格以及提出此价格的原因。

乌尔夫将自己的选票定价为140加元（约合69英镑），因为这些钱可以让他与家人去不错的餐厅吃一顿。

安大略省的一位女选民将投票与看电影联系在了一起。她期望的选票卖价是10.99加元，这个价格刚好可以让她去电影院看一场电影。

她说：“你无权抱怨经济发展得多么的糟糕，除非你参与投票；同样，你也无权抱怨电影多么的难看，除非你付10.99加元的门票。”

新斯科舍省的一位选民为选票开价799加元。按照他的计算，这将是他在2006年终获得的政府预算结余分红。他还幽默地补充到：“减去1加元（在800加元的基础上）是为了使这个价格看起来不至于过高。”

另一位来自卑诗省的选民说：“我不知道选谁，但我需要一张新躺椅。”她为手中的选票开价1300加元。

还有选民在网上留言说，他们可以为了几便士就放弃选举的权利，因为他们根本不相信选举这回事。

但也有选民强调，无论多少钱都买不走自己的选票，因为“选票是无价的，它代表选民自由和诚实的声音”。（国际在线 蒋黎黎）