Americans in Dreamland

Do Not See That Their "Secret" Ballot is Public

by John Manimas Medeiros, please share, in public domain

 

VIRTUALLY ALL REGISTERED VOTERS in the United States regard the secret ballot method of voting as provided by their state constitutional law.  That is a reasonable expectation.  Forty-four of the fifty states have constitutional provisions for elective offices by secret ballot, and the other six states have statutory references to the secret ballot method for elective offices.  The secret ballot is a strong American tradition, but there is just as strong an "invisible" tradition of violating the secrecy of the ballot

 

YOUR VOTE IS NOT SECRET IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD: "Secret":  something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.  When does your vote become public?  Is it when the election officials count the votes?  No.  The counting entails adding the total votes for each candidate, but there is no need for the ballots to show the name of the person who cast that ballot.  When you walked into the polling place, you identified yourself as a person registered to vote.  But the purpose of that identification was obviously only to record that you did vote, and that you will be voting only once in one polling place, and so that the election monitors can add up the total number of voters.  Obviously, the total number of ballots counted should equal the total number of votes cast by registered voters who had no disqualifying factors.  After being identified as a registered voter, you marked your ballot --- or voted by machine.  Your ballot was processed to be counted for all of the elective offices open at that time, and then you were guided to the way out.  Vote completed.  Congratulations, you met your civic duty.      

 

It looked like the secrecy of your ballot was fully protected.  When was your vote seen by others?  When did someone involved in monitoring the election know how you voted?  WHEN YOU REGISTERED AS A PARTY MEMBER!  How could your vote be truly secret when you told the local elections authority that you wish to be registered as a DEMOCRAT, or you wish to be registered as a REPUBLICAN?  You are telling the election officials, and the world (voter registration lists are public documents), and the TWO-PARTY TYRANTS HOW YOU ARE LIKELY TO VOTE.  You are announcing to your neighbors, most likely out of pride, that you favor the better party.  There can be no doubt that you think your party is better in some way.  Otherwise, why would you want to let the world know that you prefer THAT PARTY?  Whatever the reason, ideological honesty, personal pride, family tradition, a sense of your political and social identity;  whatever the reason, YOU THREW AWAY THE SECRECY OF YOUR BALLOT WHEN YOU REGISTERED AS FAVORING ONE POLITICAL PARTY.    Your actual ballot is still secret, you say, and they say, because you can vote as you wish when you mark your ballot.  BUT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IS GIVEN THE TWO-PARTY SCAM THE POWER TO ESTIMATE THE VOTES THEY WILL GET BEFORE THE VOTES ARE COUNTED.  There are several subtle but effective ways that registration by party compromises the secrecy of your vote and ENABLES THE TWO-PARTY SCAM TO SUPPRESS THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETING POLITICAL PARTIES.

 

Okay then, "invisible" means something that is not seen, and therefore the violation of the secrecy of the ballot qualifies as "invisible" because the American people don't see it.  But it is not hidden really, and it is plainly visible if the people look at it.  Registering by party is clearly a personal disclosure of favoring a party, and both parties have ways of estimating party loyalty.  An estimate of party loyalty is nearly the same as an estimate of votes that will be cast.  THIS COMMON PRACTICE OF REGISTRATION BY PARTY MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR THE TWO-PARTY SCAM TO CONTROL THE OUTCOMES OF ELECTIONS BY MEANS OF GERRYMANDERING DISTRICTS AND VOTER SUPPRESSION BY FORCED VOTER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.  FURTHER, another means to control the outcome of a district election is that a Gerrymandered district painted either Red (Republican) or Blue (Democrat) enables wealthy citizens to use their corporation funds to "invest" in a candidate who represents a great "return on investment."  This is how corporate officers get their lobbyists elected to Congress and state legislatures.  Then the rich donors don't even have to pay their lobbyists because the candidates they got elected then draw a legislator's salary and benefits. 

 

REGISTRATION BY PARTY enables big business to apply this "business model" of investment for profit to our election system.  Politics in America has become a branch of big business.  American political campaigns look so much like war or battlefield engagements because they are a "clash of titans."  The titans are American noble families who compete for control of the laws that enable them to be lazy, ignorant, and rich all at the same time. 

 

The REVOLUTION BY VOTE can be implemented only if all new voter registrations, that is citizens who are voting for the first time or after many years of abstaining, make their registrations "no party" registrations.  Then the two-party scam cannot claim to own votes or districts.  They will actually be compelled to listen to the complaints and concerns and issues that are of interest to the district voters.  Candidates will have to get elected by earning the support of all of the uncommitted voters, the "no party" voters whose ballots are truly secret.