{"id":459082,"date":"2020-10-26T15:27:36","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T19:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=459082"},"modified":"2020-10-26T15:27:36","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T19:27:36","slug":"should-secret-voting-be-mandatory-yes-say-political-scientists-459082","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/should-secret-voting-be-mandatory-yes-say-political-scientists-459082\/","title":{"rendered":"Should secret voting be mandatory? \u2018Yes\u2019 say political scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a new book, two scholars argue that making voting more convenient does not combat low voter turnout but instead jeopardizes the integrity of the ballot.<\/h2>\n
\n

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ the authors<\/h3>\n

James Johnson<\/strong><\/a> is a professor of political science at the URochester. His current research runs the gamut from pragmatist political thought and democratic theory, to the philosophy of social science and cultural theories of politics. He is the coauthor of The Priority of Democracy: Political Consequences of Pragmatism<\/em><\/a> (Princeton University Press, 2011).<\/p>\n

Susan Orr<\/strong><\/a> is an associate professor of political science at the College of Brockport, State University of New York. Her primary research<\/a> focuses on the politics of organized labor in the US where Orr explores how unions and union membership affect political outcomes and engagement. Together, Orr and Johnson are the coauthors of Should Secret Voting Be Mandatory<\/em>?<\/a> (Polity, November 2020).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

According to recent studies, confidence in elections has declined twice as fast as confidence in democracy, which has also plummeted around the world.<\/a> Political scientists are concerned about ever-diminishing voter turnout and unequal voter participation.<\/p>\n

The future of democracy, it seems, is dire.<\/p>\n

In response to low turnout at the polls, several countries have introduced a plethora of policies aimed at making the voting process more convenient\u2014such as postal voting, on-demand absentee balloting, early voting in person, and internet voting. In the United States, about one quarter of all voters opted to cast their votes by mail in the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n

But there are two problems with these convenience measures.<\/p>\n

First, \u201cthere is little evidence that such initiatives expand participation in inclusive ways,\u201d say Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a> political science professor James Johnson<\/strong><\/a> and Susan Orr<\/strong><\/a>, an associate professor of political science at the State University of New York Brockport<\/a>. In other words, voting by mail does not make more people vote, nor does it really increase the participation of minorities.<\/p>\n

Second, and arguably more importantly, the security of the ballot is not guaranteed if voting takes place at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch measures threaten electoral integrity,\u201d the political scientists write in their forthcoming book Should Secret Voting Be Mandatory<\/em>?<\/a> (Polity, November 2020). The coauthors\u2014a husband-and-wife team\u2014argue that some of these convenience measures undermine the very ballot secrecy that was originally introduced to prevent intimidation and bribery of voters\u2014practices which have started to reemerge.<\/p>\n

How to fix low turnout and low confidence in elections<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Experts agree that increasing voter participation is vital to restoring faith in the democratic processes. That\u2019s why the duo argues that voting in person by secret ballot should be compulsory:\u00a0\u201cFlatly, we oppose the widespread adoption of policies that make voting more convenient,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n

Why? For starters, not everyone who votes at home can do so in complete privacy.<\/p>\n

Imagine, for example, that an employer offers to witness your ballot and to mail it for you. Or a landlord sends someone to collect your rent along with your ballot and requests that the envelope remain open. What of immigrants with limited language abilities who encounter a party operative who offers to help in completing the ballot? Or an abusive parent or spouse who insists on the family\u2019s voting together at the kitchen table? The possibilities for abuse and undue influence are myriad if secret voting cannot be ensured, Orr says.<\/p>\n

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, voting by mail this November would allow tens of millions of people to participate safely. Yet there are risks to the integrity of the voting. The coauthors are careful to distinguish between outright fraud on one hand\u2014think \u201cstuffing the ballot box\u201d or \u201closing\u201d ballots\u2014and what they call \u201celectoral domination\u201d on the other. The latter describes efforts by relatively wealthy, powerful, or well-placed people to interfere\u2014more or less directly\u2014with the voting choices of those who are less influential.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the recent public concern regarding voting by mail in the upcoming election focuses on fraud,\u201d says Johnson, who deems that unease to be \u201clargely misguided.\u201d Yet when it comes to opening the door to electoral domination, the two political scientists are worried.<\/p>\n

Such illicit interference can involve bribing or intimidating voters, says Johnson, where the aim is to influence voter choice, but \u201cnot to circumvent it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandatory voting and secret ballots\u2014a necessary tandem<\/strong><\/h3>\n

That\u2019s why mandatory voting and the secret ballot \u201care best thought of in tandem,\u201d they write. \u201cIn combination they help secure the quality of electoral participation in ways that neither does on its own.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors concede that while legally forcing people to vote infringes on a person\u2019s freedom to stay home on election day, they argue that a secret ballot and mandatory voting would prevent attempts at buying votes or manipulating voter turnout.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Susan
(l-r) Susan Orr, associate professor of political science at the State University of New York Brockport, and James Johnson, political science professor at the URochester (Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ photo \/ Sandra Knispel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How did the idea of the secret ballot become so integral to democracy?<\/h3>\n

Susan Orr:<\/strong> It was originally introduced as a reform in the late 19th century to address persistent and widespread electoral domination. At the time, it was viewed as a radical measure. But by the mid-20th century the secret ballot was accepted as integral to the political rights to democratic participation and enunciated in, for example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966. It may seem minor, but it really contributes to the integrity of elections, with the hope that outcomes accurately capture the views of citizens.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you worry about the secrecy of ballots?<\/h3>\n

James Johnson:<\/strong> Since the introduction of the secret ballot, voters complete their ballots in public at a polling site where secrecy is observed, which has made attempts to buy votes and coerce voters almost impossible. That\u2019s because ballot secrecy makes it impossible for someone who wants to purchase a vote or coerce a voter\u2014to monitor compliance. Having no way to verify compliance makes vote buying and voter intimidation futile. The increasing turn to mail-in voting and the craze of taking \u201cballot selfies\u201d<\/a> both aim to increase voter turnout in the face of declining voter participation. However, despite the good motivations behind them, both are problematic because they undermine ballot secrecy.<\/p>\n

Orr: <\/strong>If voting takes place at home rather than in a polling place, vulnerable voters can be bribed and intimidated\u2014there\u2019s little secrecy when voting<\/a>. If ballot selfies are legal, anyone could be pressured to vote in compliance with the wishes of another person and send a selfie to prove that compliance.<\/p>\n

Why should secret<\/em> voting be mandatory in this country? How would one ensure that?<\/h3>\n

Johnson:<\/strong> The secret ballot is important\u2014when properly implemented, it effectively mitigates electoral domination. Ballot secrecy works by making it impossible to credibly report to others how we cast our ballot. It effectively constrains the ability of those bent on electoral domination to bribe or intimidate us. They will not carry out a costly threat or pay a promised bribe without proof that we\u2019ve carried out our part of the deal. This whole concept relies on secrecy\u2019s being mandatory and being institutionalized by a set of familiar institutional rules. In particular, it relies on ballots being secured by public officials prior to our arrival at the polls and as we cast our vote. Simply put: voting must be both secret and <\/em>mandatory.<\/p>\n

How do you feel specifically about voting by mail in this presidential election? Is it safe?<\/h3>\n

Johnson:<\/strong> When properly implemented, there is no reason for concern about voting by mail. Obviously, there can be mistakes or errors. But there is no reason to suspect insurmountable systematic difficulties.<\/p>\n

Orr:<\/strong> There have been a lot of claims regarding fraud and voting by mail, but there is no compelling evidence for that. Even a database compiled by the conservative Heritage Foundation identifies fewer than 1,300 proven cases<\/a> of voter fraud in the US since 1982\u2014and that is among millions upon millions of votes cast in that period. That is true of voting fraud generally. Postal voting is a relatively small percentage of all votes cast. In an ideal world, the number of proven cases of vote fraud would be zero. We do not live in that world. But in the actual world, electoral fraud is a marginal problem in the United States.<\/p>\n

Johnson:<\/strong> The panic in some quarters about electoral fraud has been fabricated by a concerted, ongoing campaign<\/a> undertaken by right-leaning legal activists, think tanks, and Republican party operatives. As former Federal Judge Richard Posner, a conservative, quipped in an opinion in 2014<\/a>, asking the public to fret about the integrity of US elections because electoral fraud is widespread is akin to asking the public to believe in witches<\/a>. For those concerned about the putative partisan bias of postal voting, there is little reason to fret. Recent in-depth analysis in states that have enacted postal voting show no partisan bias<\/a> in those who choose to vote by mail. Similarly, the studies show no significant increase in turnout due to the availability of voting by mail that would advantage one party.<\/p>\n

Orr:<\/strong> Given the genuine health concerns and fear of voting in public that many citizens express, it seems that expanding access to voting by mail is the best option in this election. In the long term, the undermining of ballot secrecy through widespread vote-by-mail is a concern, the solution to which would perhaps be to make voting both more convenient through investment in voting infrastructure and, at the same time, making voting mandatory.<\/p>\n

You argue that an extension of voting by mail needs a sunset clause after this election cycle. Why?<\/h3>\n

Johnson:<\/strong> Making policy or reforming institutions in a crisis is never optimal; any new rules have long-term consequences. That\u2019s why we think that any changes in the face of the pandemic should be temporary. This is especially true in the case of universal postal voting because it\u2019s among a set of reforms intended to enhance political participation by making voting more convenient. Yet, studies show that, by and large, measures of \u201cconvenience voting\u201d do little to increase participation. They\u2019re largely a subsidy to those already inclined to vote<\/a>; yet they do little to actually expand the electorate.<\/p>\n

Orr:<\/strong> It\u2019s important to remember that postal voting makes ballots insecure because it takes them out of the control of election officials. That\u2019s especially problematic at the time of voting. We are concerned that domineering spouses or parents<\/a>, clergy, employers and so on may try to influence how relatively vulnerable voters actually vote. Such electoral domination was quite common prior to the implementation of the secret ballot and still occurs relatively frequently<\/a> in jurisdictions where voting secrecy is imperfect. There\u2019s no reason to believe that those willing and able to engage in electoral domination will not quickly take advantage of the opportunity here in the United States, too. That said, there are currently no academic studies aimed at uncovering electoral domination in US states that have adopted voting by mail; most research to date has focused on fraud.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\"voteHow to make sense of 2020\u2019s unusual election season<\/strong><\/a>
\n Conspiracy theories, democratic backsliding, the integrity of mail ballots\u2014political scientists say concerns about this year\u2019s electoral process are challenging some fundamental ideas about the nation.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"mail-inVoting by mail limits the spread of COVID-19. But is the ballot really secret?<\/strong><\/a>
\n While voting by mail would allow tens of millions of people to participate safely in this fall\u2019s election, it carries its own risk to the integrity of the voting, say the authors of a forthcoming book on secret balloting.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"illustrationWatchdog report: US democratic indicators plummet amid racial justice protests and pandemic<\/strong><\/a>
\n Bright Line Watch analysis finds erosion \u201cacross the board\u201d on measures of democratic principles and how well the US is abiding by them.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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