KJUN said:
I agree. if you don't want people to know that you voted for a certain person, why the heck would you want to vote for him in the first place?
Only reason I'd be concerned with that is with repercussions after the fact of being on the "wrong" side. Example; our sheriff (my boss) is up for re-election today. Whether the incumbent or the challenger (who was the incumbent until two years ago) wins, I'd not be real comfortable with Jim or Charlie either one knowing how I voted.
It's not that I'm ashamed of how I voted, but much like many other aspects of my life, it's just none of my boss' business.
As far as being counted, our ballots are numbered. You sign in, get a numbered ballot, and your name is written on a ledger sheet alongside that ballot number's line (I was # 17 this morning). While the ballot doesn't have my name on it, it has that random number, which is linked to, and can be backtracked to, me personally in case of a lawsuit, etc. So it can be verified that I was ballot #17, and whether or not #17 was counted; it's verifiable with a little effort, yet not just open public record.
I assumed most places were set up similarly; perhaps they aren't.
I'll be surprised if there isn't a huge dose of chaos following (or even during) this election.