Please Help Me Answer My Son~

[Bluerthanblue]

He came with me to vote yesterday. I brought him along and showed him how easy it was to actually vote so that it is something he feels comfortable with and committed to in case I'm not around when he turns 18. (the next presidential primary :o )

Afterwards, when we were discussing how important voting is to everyone, he asked me why people feel such a need to be able to keep their vote a secret. I gave him the best answer I had- saying that maybe people wouldn't feel free to vote for their true favorite because they thought people would treat them differently if they knew, but my answer didn't really satisfy either of us.

Anyone have any better reasons?

His questions often teach me things -

thanks in advance.

blu

[GodlessBiker]

1. So your boss can't fire you or the government can't arrest you if you vote the wrong way.

[youthere]

2. So their vote cannot be used against them.

[Bluerthanblue]

5. Thanks to you both-I understand the theory of your answers-

it matches with what I told him,
but is this a 'free' country if we have to fear people knowing who we'd choose as a leader?

Something is really lacking in the workings of this "democracy"- / "free-society"
if certain segments of the population feel the necessity to hide their votes- for fear of losing jobs or worse- (the wealthy and already powerful wouldn't be intimidated by that)

It also points to the lack of freedom those of us with limited funds/social power may may have to cope with if we wanted to campaign, work, champion the candidate of our choosing.- Which hardly makes everyones impact on the outcome of an election equal.??

It hasn't always been like this has it?

:hi:

[RedCappedBandit]

7. This is not a free society, nor is it a democracy.

[uppityperson]

8. "is this a 'free' country if we have to fear people knowing who we'd choose as a leader?" No, and..

And no, everything you do, how you feel, does NOT have to be public. For instance, my library book list, my phone conversations, my sexual habits, what I have for lunch, my religious/spiritual beliefs. All these are none of anyone else's business. "If you don't have anything to hide, why do you care?", well I guess I just like my privacy.

[Bluerthanblue]

11. don't get me wrong-

I'm one who likes my privacy too- but the reasoning for why we have 'secret' ballots and the history behind it is something I can't seem to really reconcile.

It's different than our private activities- The need to ensure secrecy for a ballot makes it impossible for me to ensure that my vote, as I cast it, is actually accounted for- That seems to be a poor bargan imo-

Does this make sense?

[mondo joe]

9. Even in a free country people can dislike you, or shun you for your choices.

It doesn't mean you can do anything you want and everyone will be a peach.

[Bluerthanblue]

10. I agree, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't be able

to clash with someone else about your prefrences.

But if people are afraid to be open about their choice for a political leader because they might lose their source of income, then only those who already have too much control (power-money) would be free to pick whomever they wanted without fear.

Which would ensure that those who want to limit the rights and freedoms of the 'little people' would succeed.

Am I saying this clearly enough?

[Zywiec]

3. So you can answer some annoying poll one way and then vote another way. n/t

[CorpGovActivist]

4. Blu: What a Lucky Kid...

... you have.

Instead of giving a falsely authoritative answer, you taught your son that sometimes good questions lead to imperfect answers.

Depending on his attention span (and yours), and your level of interest, you might look at what happened in Ancient Athens - where http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy">democracy was practiced much more openly and directly.

Your local library probably has some good books on the subject, too.

You might also throw some questions back his way (a la http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates">Socrates, who posed hard questions to the Athenians during the democracy's decline).

For instance, what would he predict might happen if his class officer elections were open ballots?

Or what would he predict might happen if students had to vote for their favorite teacher, with the teachers watching the vote?

; )

Once he begins to grapple with why we have secret ballots, then maybe he'll begin to ponder on how to make those ballots secure and auditable.

- Dave

[Genanderson]

6. hmmm

The big reason I'd think is that the vast majority of people do not pay close attention to politics or ideologies. While they might identify themselves as being Conservative, Liberal, or something else, they would have a hard time explaining to people WHY. Even for those who do, there is a big difference between knowing what one believes in and being able to articulate those beliefs effectively. Most people are not articulate, and they know it. Privacy therefore is a big thing, because for everyone to know who you voted for would raise the question of why did you vote for him/her.