In a lot of countries voting is by secret ballot so why in the US do people have their affiliation publicly registered? The point of secret ballots is to avoid harassment from political opponents, is this not a problem over there?
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The only necessary reason that I’m aware of is for the primary process; otherwise, you simply register to vote. Some states, maybe all states, have what is known as a closed primary. What that basically means is this: if you’re a registered Democrat, for example, you get to vote in who the Democratic nominee will be but not for the Republican nominee (you don’t get to choose the candidate for the other party, only your own). The same is true the other way around; Republicans vote for the Republican nominee, not the Democratic nominee. There have still been issues of people changing their political registration for the primaries, in an attempt, to influence who the candidate for the other party will be.
It only calls to light how antiquated our political system is. It’s how you get to this place where a senile patient and a criminal are vying for the highest office in the land and those are your only two real options. You always have third parties and independents, but none of them ever stood a realistic chance of winning. You get a Republican or a Democrat; that’s are your only two options.
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