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Recently, I heard a social scientist describing some research he carried out on the use of social media as political tools and their effect on voting in the US.
It transpired that he correlated his experiments/subjects with the voting records of the individuals involved - and there were a lot, 55,000 springs to mind.
This got me thinking:
If anyone could shed some light on these matters, and perhaps correct me where I have got hold of the wrong end of the stick, I'd be grateful.
It transpired that he correlated his experiments/subjects with the voting records of the individuals involved - and there were a lot, 55,000 springs to mind.
This got me thinking:
In the UK (although voting slips are identifiable by a serial number, they are not available for examination) we set great store by the right to keep our voting private, it's completely normal not to know how others vote and many would refuse to answer even if asked directly as to how they had voted.
If, in the US, it is possible for a researcher to look up how a large number of people voted, does this mean that anyone can go to the town hall or public library and see how their friends and neighbours voted?
And if this is the case, do you think this is good or bad for your democratic process?
For what it's worth, I think this would tend to corrupt the process. Surely peer pressure, church, family, employer/employee relationships; all sorts of factors, whether real or imagined, might influence an individual to vote in way s/he would not, if the ballot were secret.
And as a related issue, I never understood your system - as I understand it - of "registering" as a Republican or Democrat (or other or none I suppose). Surely you should just register as a citizen and vote according to the issues and the candidates?If, in the US, it is possible for a researcher to look up how a large number of people voted, does this mean that anyone can go to the town hall or public library and see how their friends and neighbours voted?
And if this is the case, do you think this is good or bad for your democratic process?
For what it's worth, I think this would tend to corrupt the process. Surely peer pressure, church, family, employer/employee relationships; all sorts of factors, whether real or imagined, might influence an individual to vote in way s/he would not, if the ballot were secret.
If anyone could shed some light on these matters, and perhaps correct me where I have got hold of the wrong end of the stick, I'd be grateful.