Secret Ballot

When I was young in New York City I became aware of voting and political parties. My grandmother was a Socialist, but by the time I had come along she had become a Republican, it was for Eisenhower. My father worked in the New York Police Department as did his father and in order to prosper in a City job you had to register as a Democrat. But thanks to the Secret Ballot, on election day you could go into the voting booth and vote for whomever you liked and your Bosses would never know.

Along comes the "mail in" ballot. Each ballot is tagged and when you voted your voted is recorded along with who you are. Guaranteed your Bosses will be able to see if you voted properly and the power of the secret ballot is gone.

I like to secret ballot despite the fact that I have no had a boss in thirty some years. My only Government jobs were in the New York Sanitation Department as a street shoveler and the New York Parks Department as a Lifeguard. My registration as a Democrat got me a better beach but never a better shovel.

But I really believe in a secret ballot, Bosses don't.