Voting in secret; Off topic

[Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Mary:

On Mon, 09 Aug 2004 17:33:13 -0600, you wrote:

>Dear All,
>
>I am lurking in the background, trying to comprehend the voting issues 
>facing us tomorrow and in November. T

[snip]

>My question for all of you is, Are you concerned that the ballots to 
>be voted during the regular voting tomorrow under the Hart system are 
>not secret?
>
>Thank you for any insights you may offer.
>
>Mary Eberle

I apologize for this off topic comment but I think it is important.

First, while I doubt that secrecy has been seriously compromised in this
election, if the serialization of the ballot numbers continued into the
indefinite future then secrecy would be compromised  The reasons are a bit
technical and, well, that's not what I wanted to write about.



The off-topic comment is that there is a far more serious breach of ballot
secrecy that is right before our eyes.

In this nation and in Colorado there are the wretched Fair Campaign
Practices Act (FCPA) laws that have been enacted.

If you want to know how someone may have voted, just go to the Secretary of
States website and check to see who made what contributions.  I can
guarantee that those who contributed money to Kerry's or Bush's or Tiger's
campaign will be voting for Kerry or Bush or Tiger.

This is a serious breach of the secret ballot.  If someone is politically
committed then you will like know how he or she has voted.

The reason for the secret ballot is, of course, to prevent political
retribution.


By coincidence, this weekend I was walking a district for one of my favorite
candidates.  I had with me a list of registered voters and I was going door
to door stuffing literature.  It's a hard, dirty, and tiring job but someone
has to do it.

As I passed 1234 XXX St. I saw a man working on his RV.  I said to him,
"Excuse me, Mr. Smithers, but are you a registered Whig?"  Actually, I used
the man's real political affiliation.

"That is none of your damn business," he said.

I wonder how much of the American public knows that anyone can get a list of
registered Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, Constitution, and
Prohibition Party members.  This man probably thought that his political
affiliation was secret.  He probably thinks that the $35 he contributed to
the Whigs is secret.

None of this is secret and this collection of laws is eating away at the
heart of politics.  It has eliminated the anonymity that people used to have
to contribute to their favorite candidate without fear of retribution.



Yes, unbridled contributions can buy candidates.  What we now have, though,
is a pendulum swing where the powerful and corrupt can easily determine and
then intimidate those who contribute to their opponents.

Of the two, I'd much rather have the first.



And that is why secret ballots are so very, very important.  It is the final
place where people can express their consciences without fear of
retribution.

The secret ballot must be preserved.