At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements. 😉
It's election day here in the U.S. Midterms. As I was driving to school one morning, this question popped into my head, and I figured it would be perfect for today...
What if your ballot wasn't secret?
I like to think that I would be brave enough to vote how I feel and believe, even if it means going against the tide.
ReplyDeletePolitics can be, and often it is, very divisive. So I will prefer not to vote. I don't want to invite any trouble. Simple.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad. I feel we should be proud of our votes, but it would also depend on who's around you.
DeleteMy real friends know my values so I'd still vote the way I would vote.
ReplyDeleteWho cares! People would know I wouldn't vote to have that orange buffoon still have more power. Oops...did I say that out loud:) I can't vote in your country anyway but I would be vocal and would probably be holding up signs in front of the white house
ReplyDeleteDid you hear? They're trying to make that illegal, too.
DeleteFeel free to denigrate him as much as you like. You'll only get agreement from me.
It would absolutely open everyone up to harassment. I'm surprised they haven't tried to use this as a means to suppress voters.
ReplyDeleteI'd still vote. I prefer not to discuss politics on certain forums, but people who might know me well pretty much know how I would vote so it wouldn't bother me if others found out either :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Perhaps our votes aren't secret. In NY, you mark a paper ballot, then you wait on line to get to a scanning machine. One of my co workers told me that when she voted, a woman stood right next to the scanning machine an fed in the ballot (you are supposed to do it yourself) and she wondered if the woman had looked at her marked circles. We kind of laughed but it did make us wonder.
ReplyDeleteOurs is similar, although the poll worker usually feeds the ballot into the machine. I think we can do it, but since we have no idea what we're doing, the poll worker helps.
DeleteHe told me I got 100%. He had the jokes. His nametag also said "Speaks: when my wife lets me".
Well then I guess that word would get out on who voted for who.....which I think would not matter cause so many folks have no issues telling who they vote for anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt would depend on the person, I think. Some people are in situations where they can't be open. Kinda sad to think about.
DeleteI think we would end up with two very distinct voting types: A)Those who vote with their friends and family, who choose not to ruffle feathers, and because it's easy.
ReplyDeleteB) Those who actually do their research of the facts, the previous voting records, or previous stances on major issues, and vote their conscience with confidence enough to debate their choice to those who vote otherwise.
I believe those two types exist now, but I think sometimes research into candidates - speaking from experience - gets short-changed if we find enough evidence to back what we thought already.
That is true. I believe it's called confirmation bias. If you don't have to defend yourself, why bother?
DeleteThis could be an exciting MG/YA novel premise. What if the kids' ballots all leaked and everyone could see who everyone voted for. I love this idea!!
ReplyDeleteOh, like for homecoming queen or something? I hadn't considered that.
DeleteRight after my husband and I left from voting for Clinton in 2016, we got pulled over because my husband was speeding. The cop asked what we were doing (voting) and then he asked who we voted for(!!!!). Living in a GOP state I was legit afraid to give an answer. Would our answers affect whether or not we got a ticket? I ended up saying as kindly as I could that it was none of his business, and he let us off with a warning. I can't even imagine how much stress we would be under if we had to vote openly. Too many people could punish (or reward you) for voting or not voting the way they want you to.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy I live in a blue state. But, my area is pretty red, so depending on neighborhood I might be careful, too.
DeleteThen I guess people would know what I voted for, if they really want to make the effort to find out. :)
ReplyDeleteYup.
DeleteI wouldn't care.
ReplyDelete