Voting secrecy and the right to justification

Bibliographic Data

ID6248693
AuthorsPierre‐étienne Vandamme (0000-0003-3139-3241, Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics, University of Louvain, Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume25
Issue3
Pages388-405
Publication date2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueConstellations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1351-0487 • E-ISSN: 1467-8675
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-8675.12278
OpenAlexW2752302994
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited52

While we want voters to discuss collectively, exchange views and perspectives, justify their positions, consider all interests impartially, we let them perform the crucial action of voting alone, in the secrecy of the voting booth. This paper critically considers the reasons why every contemporary democracy uses secret ballots in general elections. It then looks for alternatives which would better combine the respective benefits of secrecy and publicity, and so alleviate the tension between votes and deliberations, tension characterized by the non-justificatory nature of secret voting and its breaking down of the deliberative process. The systematic justification of votes is offered as a potentially useful tool in this regard and defended against a variety of possible criticisms

Citation · Humanities · Library science · Political science · Politics · Secrecy · Sociology · Voting · Computer Science · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Political Theology and Sovereignty

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