Comment Text:
Dear CFTC,
I am strongly opposed to allowing investors to gamble on the results of elections. We already have a government where corporate lobbyists buy influence through campaign contributions or by wining and dining politicians. This makes people feel that they have little enough impact on policy as it is. If the election process itself becomes a money-making proposition for investors, even if they do nothing more than bet on the election, it gives an aura of corruption.
On the basis of the amount of insider trading that we see happening on a regular basis, it is reasonable to expect that some investors will try to influence the outcome of the election to favor the outcome that they are gambling on. This means that a whole new group will there will attempt to buy influence which both damages democracy and causes people to be less confident in the results of elections.
For the sake of protecting a democracy which is already teetering from the challenges to it in recent years, please do not allow gambling on our election results.
Thank you for your serious consideration of these ideas.
Julie Bernstein
