[EL] Voting by mail cannot ensure a secret ballot, which is the cornerstone of democracy (The Boston Globe)

[Michael McDonald]

FWIW, the California Supreme Court rejected a claim mail balloting should
be deemed unconstitutional due to the loss of a secret ballot in Peterson
v. City of San Diego (1983), finding a balance weighing in favor of
increased access to lowered election administration costs.

https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/34/225.html

============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, University of Florida
703-772-1440 (c)
352-273-2371 (w)
www.electproject.org
@ElectProject


On Tue, May 12, 2020 at 7:40 AM Jurij Toplak <jurij.toplak at um.si> wrote:

> The Boston Globe published my view of voting by mail. A problem of
> families or employees voting together has been debated in the rest of the
> world for a century. In Austria-Hungary, in the early 20th century, voting
> in groups was a known problem.
>
> Much mail voting takes place at the kitchen table, with family members
> filling out their ballots together. The elderly and disabled cast their
> votes alongside their caretakers. The more timid or needy or financially
> dependent family members, and those in nursing homes, will often follow the
> advice or expectations of those on whom they depend in order to gain
> sympathy or favor or to avoid conflict, intimidation, ridicule, or dislike.
> The US has fought for decades around the world to make sure that women,
> youth, elderly, and the disabled may all vote in privacy, without a husband
> or family head looking over their shoulder, because such a circumstance
> cancels the free and honest expression of a voter’s convictions.
>
>
> https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/12/opinion/push-mail-in-vote-gaining-steam-scrutiny/
>
> Jurij
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