[liberationtech] Looking for collaborators for free-range voting project

[Edwin Chu]

> I used to point to the harm caused by our faith in the secret ballot,
> but now I feel it's the wrong approach.  Whatever we suffer on account
> of our political arrangements (we in the West, who have so much else
> to be thankful for) is our own fault.  We have the wherewithal to fix
> things, and could even proceed a little faster if we wished.
>

My concern on full disclosure voting is mainly about pressure on
minorities and the fear of isolation.

The aim of secret ballot is to avoid influence of others and allow one
to express their true views. Influence is sometimes explicit incentive
or pressure, like the vote buying and institutional pressure in your
examples. These can be seen and easily corrected. However, influence
can also come from no person - from our own fear of isolation.

Consider some very controversial topics like same-sex marriage, one
may avoid speaking up if he think his opinion is the minority. It is
not necessary that there is real threat or it may be not even a
minority. It is about perception, or the quasi-statistical sense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_of_silence.

I afraid that this kind of harmony and conformity can be a resistance
to social change.

Edwin