Sherri W (SyntaxSeed)22h ago

❓🇺🇸 Question for Americans...

An interview I watched mentioned Republicans trying to get the voter info so they can correlate where you live & how you registered to vote with who you voted for.

What?? Aren't your ballots anonymous??

Here in Canada, unless I decide to put a candidate's sign on my lawn... no one knows who I voted for.

The ballots are anonymous & even put into the box in a way to prevent marking or slight of hand by poll workers.

I'm confused.

#politics #USPol #vote

Show threadMatthew Weier O'Phinney21h ago
@syntaxseed Where I live, and most places I've lived in the states, ballots are numbered, and when they check your ID, they also note your ballot number next to your name. It's asinine, to say the least.
Show threadSherri W (SyntaxSeed)18h ago

@mwop WHAT?!?!?

OMG.

Show threadBen Ramsey18h ago
@syntaxseed @mwop When you vote in primaries, they definitely know which primary you voted in (whether for Democrat or Republican) because you can only vote in one or the other but not both.
Show threadSherri W (SyntaxSeed)
@ramsey @mwop Sure, but I assumed if you wanted to stay anonymous you could skip the primaries.
Mar 23 at 3:12amWeb
Show threadBen Ramsey18h ago
@syntaxseed @mwop Skipping the primaries is why we have so many bad candidates on the ballots in the general elections.
Show threadgrmpyprogrammer10h ago
@ramsey @syntaxseed @mwop Your two-party system and campaign financing issues are why you have so many bad candidates.
Show threadLarry Garfield5h ago
@grmpyprogrammer @ramsey @syntaxseed @mwop All of the above.
Show threadBen Ramsey5h ago
@Crell @grmpyprogrammer @syntaxseed @mwop Ranked choice voting would help.
Show threadJosh Butts4h ago
@ramsey @Crell @grmpyprogrammer @syntaxseed @mwop I'm convinced RCV in US federal elections would be chaos.
Show threadLarry Garfield3h ago

@josh @ramsey @grmpyprogrammer @syntaxseed @mwop It hasn't been in the 2 states that already use it. And many cities use it now.

(Disclosure: I'm on the board of directors for @FairVoteIL )

Show threadJosh Butts3h ago
@Crell @ramsey @grmpyprogrammer @syntaxseed @mwop The 2 that use it are functionally irrelevant in presidential politics. If TX, NY, CA, and FL started doing it, you would immediately see money corrupt that too. If we don't solve the money problem, RCV, Term Limits, etc, won't matter.
Show threadLarry Garfield3h ago
@josh @ramsey @grmpyprogrammer @syntaxseed @mwop As I said, all of the above.
Show threadNick Sloan9h ago
@ramsey @syntaxseed @mwop In Pennsylvania you have to vote in the primary for the party in which you are registered. That also means that unaffiliated voters can’t vote in a primary here. But party registration isn’t a perfect proxy for voting outcomes. Just ask John Fetterman.
Show threadBen Ramsey6h ago
@nick @syntaxseed @mwop We don’t have party registration in Tennessee, as far as I’m aware—at least not for voting in primaries. Georgia was the same, when I lived there. I’ve never registered with a party ever.
Show threadJeff Markel4h ago
@ramsey @syntaxseed @mwop I actually disagree with this. Primaries are one of the main reasons FOR bad candidates.The parties push their own chosen candidates over the ones that may be preferable to the electorate as a whole. They also grossly expand the cost of running for office. They benefit almost no one besides political consultants, the advertising/media companies they deal with, and the entrenched party power-brokers. Eliminate primaries and have a single, Ranked Choice Vote election