# Hey, did you know \[some of\] your voting records are public? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [November 3, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622 "2024-11-03T18:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/21 "2024-11-03T21:51:20Z")
Which states? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/22 "2024-11-03T21:55:29Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Which states? - I don’t think they mean _who_ you voted for, just that you were registered for whichever party. In case that’s what you were asking. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/23 "2024-11-03T21:58:00Z")
I was responding to this: > [@Ponderoid](#): > > In some states, your primary selection is public record: a known direction. Primary selection = party affiliation? Primary vote? I asked in order to clarify the quoted statement. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/24 "2024-11-03T22:21:30Z")
In my state that would be the party affiliation of the primary ballot you asked for at that election. In May we had 7 different primary ballots you could choose from. We record which one you chose. It isn’t unheard of for a registered Democrat, for instance, to ask for a Republican primary ballot so they can vote for the least worrisome of the choices. I’m sure this tactic happens both directions. In the General Election Tuesday all choices will be on all ballots. Which makes my job as an election judge a lot easier, only one ballot to keep straight rather than seven. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/25 "2024-11-03T22:25:43Z")
There has been a grassroots movement (as in, leaving post-its in bathroom stalls, and the like) to make sure that women know that no one will know whom they voted for. This is aimed at conservative women who are thinking Harris is a better choice for women, but who would face severe consequences if their husbands etc knew they’d voted for her. Trump is far more popular among men than women. There was an ad to that effect by Michelle Obama and quite a public fury among trumpist men over it. Perhaps this is a scion of the OP idea. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/26 "2024-11-03T22:33:00Z")
Yeah, that ad sounds intimidating - If you don’t vote, we’ll tell your mom. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/27 "2024-11-03T22:36:58Z")
I can’t say for sure about which other states, but here in Virginia, no debate. I got one of those letters that spelled it out, my voting history, without a doubt. It listed each primary I chose to attend, marking me as the Democrats’ friend. Not who I picked, just which ballot I took, every election since I first put my name in the book. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/28 "2024-11-03T22:43:30Z")
Bravo to Ponderoid: a poet and we know it! ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/29 "2024-11-03T22:45:31Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > There has been a grassroots movement (as in, leaving post-its in bathroom stalls, and the like) to make sure that women know that no one will know whom they voted for. Interesting if non-definitive X thread here: > > > AWE @mom2dlh ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/30 "2024-11-03T22:53:38Z")
Here’s another link: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zqy8FlKeAKE/maxresdefault.jpg "A viral Post-it notes campaign for Harris") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqy8FlKeAKE) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/31 "2024-11-03T23:16:06Z")
Yeah, I have a woman friend who is doing that (post-its in women’s rooms). I think it’s a good guerilla tactic. Easy to carry around, easy to pop one on a mirror in a second, and quick for anyone to read. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/32 "2024-11-04T01:41:10Z")
If the whole intent is to tell people (in the example given above, specifically Harris-leaning women afraid of their Trump-supporting husbands) why it is safe to vote how they want, then I withdraw my objection. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/33 "2024-11-04T01:46:42Z")
That’s the script I got for my postcards. I simply alternated between the three suggestions. If you really do not want your voting records online, contact your county auditor and they can do that. My own county has a “Safe At Home” program for people who, for whatever reason, don’t want their address ANYWHERE online; most of them are people who have fled abuse, but not all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/34 "2024-11-04T01:51:12Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The most practical solution, in my view, is to make voting as easy as possible. I am constantly appalled by the long lineups to vote that I see all over the US, which seems to be due at least partially to Republican efforts to make voting as difficult as possible.for ordinary people. That would be the best solution: I wouldn’t call it the most practical. There is no right to vote in the US and same-day voter registration is the practice in some states, but not others. I agree the US should adopt the practices of other advanced democracies, but you go with the electoral system you have. > [@wolfpup](#): > > If they’re going to make threats, maybe the threat should be a symbolic effort to lobby for mandatory voting, which some countries have. I say “symbolic” because that could never happen in the US of A where everyone will always have the right to foist off their civic responsibility on their neighbour, and of course their neighbour will have the God-given right to do the same. There are 2 separate questions here. One is with regards to effectiveness: that’s an empirical question, best addressed with experimental testing. The second question is one of ethics. My take is that democracy is on the ballot and do you want one or don’t you? The GOP nominated a guy who attempted a coup: Trump received support of 3/4 of primary voters. I say we have a problem on our hands on balance. If I lived in Chile, I would consider for the party that propped Pinochet, but only after 20 years or more of democracy. Here in the US, the GOP should receive tough love through 2028 I say. In 2032 I’ll have a moral challenge with regards to whether I’d want to support annoying and intrusive techniques. We’ll see. For the time being I say yes, and hell yes. ETA: Heh. But should we fight a war to defend our democracy? [Irony] Of course not, that would be barbaric. We should just roll over. [/Irony] Seriously, the harms discussed here are rather minimal compared with the conventional wisdom regarding the worth of what is being protected, a conventional wisdom I agree with. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/35 "2024-11-04T02:47:38Z")
Kevin Drum has a decent blog post on the women’s bathroom Post-It network. Links to the X thread, a WAPO piece, and a You-tube ad: > **[Women’s restrooms have a long history as an underground network - Kevin Drum](https://jabberwocking.com/womens-restrooms-have-a-long-history-as-an-underground-network/)** > > A week ago, Vote Common Good released an ad narrated by Julia Roberts telling women they could vote for anyone they wanted and their husbands would never know: Today, the Washington Post reports that the ad was inspired by a grassroots campaign... ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/36 "2024-11-04T03:02:57Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Yeah, I have a woman friend who is doing that (post-its in women’s rooms). This has been a leading tactic on a Facebook group of which I am a member, called Kansas Women for Kamala Harris. (Yes, they let guys in as well!) BTW, this group was created 14 weeks ago, and yesterday the membership count climbed above 33,000. (No, I haven’t posted any notes in women’s rooms.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/37 "2024-11-04T05:56:19Z")
Elected officials can use the info on who voted to make their office more efficient. For example, telling their aide to give higher priority to answering letters/emails from people who did vote in their district, and putting letters from non-voters at the bottom of the stack. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/38 "2024-11-04T06:15:08Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Here in the US, the GOP should receive tough love through 2028 I say. You misspelled 3028. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/39 "2024-11-04T14:12:16Z")
A woman’s vote is only as private as her asshole husband/SO not insisting she take a pic of it with her phone. These guys may be assholes, but they aren’t stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622/40 "2024-11-04T15:53:00Z")
I may be because I didn’t think of that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-did-you-know-some-of-your-voting-records-are-public/1009622.md?page=3)