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Is There a Secret Ballot? Ballot Secrecy Perceptions and Their Implications for Voting Behaviour

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  • Gerber, Alan S.
  • Huber, Gregory A.
  • Doherty, David
  • Dowling, Conor M.

Abstract

Do people believe the votes they cast are truly secret? Novel items added to a nationally representative survey show that 25 per cent of respondents report not believing their ballot choices are kept secret and over 70 per cent report sharing their vote choices with others. These findings suggest that standard models of candidate choice should account for the potential effects of doubts about ballot secrecy. Consistent with this view, regression analysis shows that social forces appear to have a greater effect on vote choices among people who doubt the formal secrecy of the ballot. This analysis supports the broader claim that the intended benefits of institutional rules may not be realized if people's perceptions of these rules differ from their formal characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerber, Alan S. & Huber, Gregory A. & Doherty, David & Dowling, Conor M., 2013. "Is There a Secret Ballot? Ballot Secrecy Perceptions and Their Implications for Voting Behaviour," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 77-102, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:43:y:2013:i:01:p:77-102_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mauro Caselli & Paolo Falco, 2019. "Your Vote is (no) Secret! How Low Voter Density Harms Voter Anonymity and Biases Elections in Italy," EconPol Working Paper 26, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    2. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham & Reyko Huang & Katherine M. Sawyer, 2021. "Voting for Militants: Rebel Elections in Civil War," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 81-107, January.
    3. Casas, Agustin, 2020. "The electoral benefits of unemployment, clientelism and distributive politics," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    4. Conor M Dowling & David Doherty & Seth J Hill & Alan S Gerber & Gregory A Huber, 2019. "The voting experience and beliefs about ballot secrecy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, January.
    5. Alan S Gerber & Gregory A Huber & Albert H Fang & Catlan E Reardon, 2017. "The effect on turnout of campaign mobilization messages addressing ballot secrecy concerns: A replication experiment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-7, August.
    6. Xavier Giné & Ghazala Mansuri, 2018. "Together We Will: Experimental Evidence on Female Voting Behavior in Pakistan," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 207-235, January.
    7. Caselli, Mauro & Falco, Paolo, 2022. "Your vote is (no) secret! How low voter density hurts anonymity and biases elections in Italy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Marco Giani & Pierre-Guillaume Méon, 2023. "Elections and norms of behaviour: a survey," Working Papers CEB 23-001, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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