Question:

Why is voting seen as a personal thing?

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For instance, when we asked one of our teachers who she voted for, she wouldn't tell us. It seems to be on par with asking how old someone is or how much they earn.

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  1. Because voting IS such a personal thing. The reason we get to do it in secret is so that we don't have to tell anybody.

    And if its your teacher, she should try to stay professional. If your parents thought you were being taught with a bias towards one party, they'd certainly be annoyed. I would.


  2. I don't know. It didn't used to be like this. Probably because people feel like they may be publicly humiliated if they say something not on par with everyone else.

  3. because once you ask who they are voting for, soon you want to know why she is voting for that person and then personal opions come out on issues like abortion, same s*x marriage, religion, health care......

    most people just choose not to get into it.

  4. It is on par with the other questions. It is meant to be private, that is why people used to go behind the curtain to cast their vote. Some people do not want to argue with others who did not vote the same way.

  5. Because so many people are racists.  They don't think a African American or women can run for president.  Also people are afraid to be judged.

  6. so no 1 will come after u and y can lie about whom u voted i think

  7. It may be part of the PC culture, not wanting to have to answer questions on why you voted the way you did or -Surprise- letting other people make up their own minds and not being influenced by others opinions. Some people form incorrect assumptions or opinions when they know your age, how much money you make, your religious affiliation or who you voted for also.

  8. When I was a kid (I'm mid 30s now) my parents never talked about who they voted for.  I don't think it's a new thing.

    Some people like to talk politics, some don't.  It's a personal preference.  I can only assume that some people like to keep it to themselves to avoid attacks on their beliefs.

  9. my teacher said that too. i think most people are scared to share what they believe.

  10. it's because when you vote for some one, you're voting for their ideas and what they feel is right. When some one tells you who they voted for, that's telling you what they believe in...

    or atleast that's what I think...

  11. The secrecy of the ballot exists for a good reason. Let's say you voted for X. Let's suppose X ends up losing the election, or is somehow illegally blocked from office. If the secret ballot did not exist, then the opponents of X can go out and jail/torture/kill everyone who voted for X. This happens quite often in third-world countries, FWIW. In such countries, doing so often is seen as a smart political move (eliminate the competition), as bad as that is.

    Now, with a secret ballot, such shenanigans are obviously not possible. Sure, the winner can still ASK who you voted for, but you'd be able to lie and they can't find out. If the ballots were counted honestly, it's even possible for the ruling regime to be thrown out and for them to be unable to know who did the throwing.

    Now, hopefully you and your teacher live in a more developed country. A secondary reason why your teacher might not want to say who she voted for is that she doesn't want to be plausibly accused of using her lessons to promote or denigrate any candidate or position, which would be a no-no. Finally, yes it is as the other posters said, there is a strong feeling that our votes are our business and nobody elses'; we are under no obligation to justify WHY we voted the way we did. So we might as well not say who we voted for.

  12. Voters have a right to secrecy of their vote, and you don't have to tell anybody who you are voting for, or who you voted for after you voted. If more voters did not tell who they intended to vote for, or had voted for after voting pollsters would be confounded. The only voters that would be left to ask would be the advocates for each political candidate, or (question for the voters) on the ballot. Nobody would know who was ahead in a given state, and good candidates wouldn't be dropping out of the race because the polls were against them. Also if voters did not tell who they had voted for on Election Day, those pollsters who do exit polls would have no data to predict a winner. This would mean that voters who live in the Western United States would go to the polls and vote their choice instead of staying home because of some pollster's prediction of the outcome of the Election!!!!!

    There is an exception to this secrecy of voting that occurs in the New England Town Meeting it is called a Standing Vote. The voters stand to vote YES and the voters stand to vote NO. The count of the vote is taken and the issue is decided! (It should be noted that a secret ballot is available upon request of a sufficient numbers of voters who stand to request a secret ballot on the issue being considered by the Town (legislature) Meeting!!!)

    This is fact is the origin of the expression: Stand And Be Counted!!!!

  13. 2 things you don't discuss, politics and religion. People tend to stereotype people when they find out who they plan to vote for or what they believe involving religion. Thus, people might say... I wouldn't trust your teacher with a quarter. She's going to vote for that crazy woman, Hillary.

  14. I dunno...I'm a teacher and when a student asked who I intended to vote for I told him, Barack Obama.  That set off a discussion on what makes a person popular enough to catch the 'politcal wave'.  What is it that appeals to people?  What do people want in a leader?  How does political propaganda sway the way people feel?  What's truely in the best interest of the 95% of Americans who work for a living?  Does race matter in the early 21st century?  Does gender matter?  Why are some against Sen. Clinton?  Why are some 'conservatives' against McCain?  What about the 'war'?  How does technology change society?  Why not close the borders?  Why not open the borders?  The beat goes on.  The purpose of teaching is twofold...to teach the facts and to encourage opinion.  There's nothing like doubting the 'facts' to get people to think.  Realistically, the 'facts' don't change, but the 'facts' spin off a lot of  interesting questions...the 'what if' factor.  Dealing with questions is what education is all about.  As for me, I can't believe they pay me to have this much fun!

  15. Because the 'Ballet' is supposed to be secret. It's not, but the 'Secret Ballet' is one of the corner stones of our Republic.

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