The secret ballot hasn’t always been a staple of American politics, but it was wisely instituted by most states around the 1890s as a way to forestall voter fraud via intimidation, vote buying, and blackmailing. Since then, it’s become ubiquitous not just in the United States but in most democratic countries, and one of the first things most people associate with the very concept of free and fair elections. After all, there’s something uniquely special about the fact that, no matter one’s identity or position in society, everyone has the right to vote for the candidate of his or her own choice without political pressure or repercussion.
That’s how it used to be, anyway, before Democrats began seeing it as an obstacle to power (like when they tried to remove the secret ballot entirely from workplace union elections so workers could be peer-pressured into allowing unions in). It’s an odd view, at first glance. Going with the narrative of husbands telling their wives how to vote - which is apparently how Trump won, or something - sure, maybe a husband might browbeat his wife during the months and weeks leading up to an election. But when that wife gets in the voting booth all by her lonesome, she can pull that lever, push that button, or mark that chad any way she damned well wishes, and there’s not a thing anyone can do to stop her. And if she wants to keep the family peace by lying about it when she’s done - either to her husband or to exit pollers - she’s free to do so. --
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