Yes, 100%. 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. Vote swapping involves no financial exchange. It’s more of a conversation and a pledge to one another. See wikipedia on vote pairing. 

Yes, 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 0.2% of Ralph Nader’s voters in Florida had vote paired—if about 1,600 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.

Have no fear, we're here to help you make a match! (Cue the Fiddler on the Roof song). You can sign up and we'll get in touch to share a possible match with you.

While there’s no way of legally enforcing a vote swap, you and your swap buddy can make a handshake agreement in all kinds of creative ways, including the ever-beloved and literal 🤝 emoji handshake. 🤝

When you make contact with your vote partner, perhaps let each other know what the most important policies to you, what you would like your vote to achieve, why you have decided to swap your vote.

Some people even let each other 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.

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

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!

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. Nebraska and Maine divide their electoral votes among districts. NE-2 and ME-2 are both swing districts in our estimation.

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.

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.

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. This project receives funding from Landslide PAC.