Yes, 100%. The Ninth Circuit Court determined in the 2007 case Porter v. Bowen that efforts in 2000 to swap votes were constitutionally protected by the First Amendment. Vote swapping (or “vote pairing”) has been practiced in presidential elections in the US since 2000, most notably in 2016 and 2020 to counter Trump, in Canada, and in the UK, such as the Forward Democracy project. We were also able to consult election lawyers on our specific implementation, and they confirmed that vote-swapping is legal and constitutionally protected.

Importantly, vote swapping involves no financial exchange. It’s more of a conversation and a pledge to one another. Both the swing state voter and the safe state voter agree to a political coalition-building strategy that advances their interests, which is similar to many other common political deals. See wikipedia on vote pairing. 

Yes. Increasing (even doubling) the number of protest votes in safe states can be a powerful reminder to politicians that voters are sick of the establishment and help pressure Democrats to move toward more progressive policies.

Vote swapping helps to tip the probabilities in favor of a Harris victory and Trump defeat. Due to the way the electoral college works, a massive national election could come down to a few thousand votes in 7 key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 

A similar “vote swap” method was used in 2000 and almost made the difference! If only another 0.6% of Ralph Nader’s voters in Florida had vote paired—if about 2,000 Nader supporters had paired instead of 1,400—Al Gore would have carried the election.

This initiative also encourages voter outreach between friends (and friends-of-friends), which is the most effective way to increase turnout among all get-out-the-vote tactics.

While there’s no way of legally enforcing a vote swap, there are many ways you and your swap buddy can build trust.

When you make contact with your vote partners, perhaps let them know what are the most important policies to you, what you would like your vote to achieve, and why you have decided to swap your vote. If you want, you can have a call to talk and confirm your intentions. It’s not foolproof, but most people keep their word, especially when they know there’s a real person or people trusting them to do so.

In past vote years, some people even let their partner(s) know when they're heading down to the polling station. In the spirit of transparency, you can request proof of voting via a photo of your respective "I voted" stickers. (But we do NOT recommend taking photos of ballots as that is not legal in some states.)

We would also argue that Harris fans have no incentive to break their commitment. A safe-state Harris voter gains almost nothing from voting for Harris in a state that Harris is going to win by 5 million votes anyway.

You are helping to increase trust at a time when trust is at an all time low. That’s something to celebrate!

We currently support and match voters in “swing states” with voters in “safe blue” states. We will NOT be matching voters from red states.

Swing states. Most states are lopsided in either the Blue or Red direction. But, a handful of states could go either way, and every vote matters for deciding whether they go in the Trump column or the not-Trump column. These are swing states. This year, they are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Safe blue states. We also support voters in safe blue states. These are states that pollsters and election modelers believe are very likely to vote for Harris.

We will NOT be supporting voters in Red states. If you are in a red state and interested in supporting our efforts, please consider a) referring your swing-state and blue-state friends to swapyourvote.org and b) promoting voter turnout among your friends and c) voting and especially for downballot for initiatives and candidates you believe in.

Yes. Your voting intentions are sacred! We do not publish anything on your behalf. We only collect the minimum of data to allow us to help you find a swap or keep you updated on this project and will not share your data. You can read more in our privacy policy.

There is no way to actually prove that people followed through on their swap commitments on Election Day; this is based on relational trust. But we are inviting vote swappers to sign up. Contact info will not be shared beyond this platform. And we're tracking the use of the #SwapYourVote hashtag. You can help make the impact greater by spreading the word!

At this time we are not making matches from Red states. But you can help spread the word about this effort and call your friends in swing states to encourage them to vote! And don’t forget to vote yourself. Not only for president but also in crucial downticket races.

Vote swapping is not practiced in down ballot races in the United States, whether congressional, state or local. Vote swapping is only directed at our one national election for President, because of how the Electoral College skews the popular vote to create swing states and safe states. But down-ballot races are critically important. Please make the time to read up on the candidates running for local and statewide office, and ballot initiatives in your state and locality, and cast your own vote on those.

If elected, Trump would be a game over for climate progress, says he would shut down the southern border and deport millions, further squash access to reproductive rights, “be a dictator on day one”, and so on. We literally may not have elections again. This is no joke.

While Harris may be playing to her financiers and centrist voters on issues like fracking and support for Israeli apartheid, she is also making serious campaign promises that are both credible and will really, really matter, such as ensuring abortion access and affordable healthcare and improving the economy for everyday Americans. 

Also, who would you prefer to lobby, pressure, campaign against for the next four years, Harris (who we might be able to pressure to do the right thing if we build enough power) or Trump (who doesn’t give a f#%* what we say or do)? That’d be Harris. As grassroots activists will tell you: “vote for the person you’d prefer to organize against.”

Vote.gov is a one-stop-shop resource with answers to common questions about registering and voting for each state, as well as providing a helpful overview of our hard-won voting rights. If your friends have other questions on where to go to vote, do your best to direct them where to find out.

Well, short of a constitutional amendment, the most promising strategy is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), an agreement among a growing number of states to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote. Even Tim Walz thinks it’s a good idea! And here’s Robert Reich telling us how to abolish the electoral college.

Swap Your Vote is helping people maximize the impact of their vote. But the fight for better, more democratic representation continues long past the 2024 election. Here’s an overview of 4 simple reforms that could transform the way we vote and participate in our democracy. More information at FairVote.

Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, ensuring that winners have majority support and reducing the impact of "spoiler" candidates – if your favorite candidate can’t win, your vote counts for your backup choice. RCV promotes fairer representation, encourages diverse candidates, and discourages negative campaigning. RCV eliminates the issue of “spoiler candidates” and the need to “vote for the lesser of two evils.” RCV makes it easier for women and candidates of color to run for office and win. RCV is currently in use in Maine and Alaska, and on the ballot in 2024 in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and D.C. Resources: FairVote's RCV Guide. The Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) Act (H.R. 4464), sponsored by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D- Maryland) and a group of House colleagues, would implement RCV for U.S. House and Senate elections.

Abolish the Electoral College in favor of a National Popular Vote — either by a constitutional amendment, or via the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact which only requires states with a majority of electoral votes (270 of 538) to enact it.

Proportional Representation allows parties to win seats based on the percentage of votes they receive. This method is widely used in other democracies and ensures that minority voices have a seat at the table. Resources: The Fair Representation Act, sponsored by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), is a comprehensive solution that solves the problems of partisan gerrymandering and uncompetitive elections for U.S. House. 

Expanding Access to Voting — making voting accessible to everyone is crucial to a democratic system. This includes reforms such as automatic voter registration, early voting, vote-by-mail options, and protections against voter suppression.

Here’s everything an organization (or individual within an organization) would need to participate at scale in SwapYourVote.

Use the #SwapYourVote hashtag and memes to popularize the idea of vote swapping amongst your members and networks. Create and share your own memes and social messages, and direct people to SwapYourVote.org for additional information. Encourage your members to swap votes, and share the idea widely, particularly with communities in swing states that might be interested.

We are a group of dedicated volunteers who want to protect democracy and make big progressive wins in 2025 and beyond.

Thank you for entrusting us and we look forward to hearing from you with your swap stories and any questions.

A few words about our founding project leads:

Kipchoge Spencer voted for Nader in 2000 and then spent eight long years dealing with the consequences. He is the founder of the Landslide relational organizing voter app and its parent PAC. He also founded Xtracycle and is a lifelong climate advocate, currently working on ways to enable mass collaboration to get the more beautiful world most of us want.

Rae Abileah is a social change strategist, author, agile coach, and founder of CreateWell consultancy. She is a contributing author to anthologies including Beyond Tribal Loyalties: Personal Stories of Jewish Peace Activists. As a Jewish-American faith leader, she was raised with a vigilance against rising fascism, and can’t stand by witnessing the ongoing starvation and death of children in Gaza. She wanted to find a middle path that would be both strategic and connective: vote swapping.

Andrew Boyd is a long-time creative campaigner, co-founder of Beautiful Trouble and Climate Clock, and the author of "I Want a Better Catastrophe".

This project receives funding from Landslide PAC.