I used to share this sentiment...until I lost the fifth grade class presidency. It was between me and another girl. She won by one vote. Now, I didn't actually want to be class president, so I didn't really care. However, I appreciated the fact that if you really want to win something, you should probably vote for yourself. So if I ever run for President of the United States, you can be sure I'll remember this lesson from fifth grade, and vote for myself.
The only thing I would mind is if a person had several identities on LitNet, and they were using them to vote for their story. It is one thing to vote for yourself once, but
that would be dishonest. Ditto, telling your friends that you've submitted a story--or writing a story about something you've told your friends so they could correctly guess it is your story, would be dishonest...and against the rules.
Of course, the problem is, I suppose, is that if your friends are familiar with your writing style, they can probably correctly guess even if you haven't said anything. I know zoolane's style, so I guessed correctly what stories were hers. She abided by the rules. I don't know how easy it is to change your style or if it is possible, since your writing is an extension of yourself.
However, I choose to believe in everyone's integrity here.
These were all great stories. I voted for many of them in the past, and even if I didn't vote for them--I still thought they were good, but something appealed to my interests more.