Opinion ID: 532978
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Secret Ballot

Text: 26 For a democracy to function, it is absolutely vital that citizens be free to vote for the candidate they choose. No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined. Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 17, 84 S.Ct. 526, 535, 11 L.Ed.2d 481 (1964). Although historically the viva voce (with the living mouth) election was common in the United States, 2 in this century most states, including West Virginia, have embraced the secret ballot, either statutorily or constitutionally, as an indispensable means of holding elections free from violence, intimidation, bribery and other corrupt practices which so often accompany elections where secrecy is not preserved. Anderson v. Mills, 664 F.2d 600, 608 (6th Cir.1981). See also Taylor v. Bleakley, 55 Kan. 1, 39 P. 1045 (1895). In the recent case of Nabors v. Manglona, 829 F.2d 902 (9th Cir.1987), for example, it was alleged that the defendants had intimidated, coerced, and bribed numerous voters to obtain their votes, and that to insure the success of this alleged fraud, had ordered the voters to mark their ballots with secret code names. Id. at 904. 27 Although there have been no allegations of fraud in the instant case, the secret ballot also acts to protect another vital component of a democratic election: the ability to cast a ballot free from scorn and ridicule. Anderson v. Mills, 664 F.2d at 608; Taylor v. Bleakley, 39 P. at 1049. In holding the desire-to-vote provision in Kentucky's election laws invalid, the Sixth Circuit noted that: 28 The declaration operates to discourage citizens from participation in the electoral process simply because they do not wish people to know how they will vote. Such a revelation invokes the fears sought to be quelled by the secrecy of voting laws in this country, and subject an elector to the pressure of his neighbors, his employers, and social peers. 29 664 F.2d at 608-09. 30 Moreover, we believe that the effect of such a revelation can be substantial, in that it will discourage people from joining unpopular or controversial parties or causes. 31 West Virginia has enacted a statute, W.Va.Code Sec. 3-1-4, providing that voters in all elections shall have the choice of voting with either an open, sealed, or secret ballot. 3 Given the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals' own holding that the act of signing a nominating certificate is analogous to casting a ballot, this court can only conclude that forcing individuals to state that they desire to vote for a candidate before they can sign his nominating certificate is a clear infringement of their right to keep their vote and their political preference secret. 4