The Voting Experience and Beliefs about Ballot Secrecy

The legitimacy of democratic election results rests on the perceived fairness of the rules and procedures for voting. New democracies go to great length to foster electoral institutions, while one of the hallmarks of long-standing democracies is strong institutions protecting the electoral process. We argue that beliefs about these democratic institutions, and not just their existence, are of central importance to legitimate elections. We show that even in the United States doubts about democratic institutions are surprisingly prevalent: 36 percent of respondents to a nationally representative survey hold doubts that the choices they make on their ballots remain anonymous. We also present evidence that polling place voters experience a variety of situations that might violate the privacy of their voting process. Concerns about the anonymity of the ballot are greater among those who have not previously voted and for those voting with electronic machines and by mail. These findings suggest an important divergence between public perceptions about the secret ballot and the institutional status of the secret ballot in the United States. More broadly, this evidence suggests that individual beliefs should not be ignored when considering the effects and operation of political institutions.