Secret ballot is best choice

As an example: ‘Brex’hit – ‘X’ marks the spot!’ would be ambiguous at best, although the addition of a single letter in the middle transforms it into the ideal slogan for those few adolescent foul-mouths (always a miniscule but disproportionately vocal proportion of the total number of teenagers) who can then rejoice that they can express themselves cogently to all and sundry without having to increase their own vocabulary.

Instead of old fashioned concepts like ‘liberty’ (for those whose freedom has been taken by other people’s liberties) and ‘democracy’ (instead of the modern simulacrum that democracy is the ability to express approval of somebody else’s actions carried out on your behalf but without your initial consent) there are now algorithmic websites to promote wasted votes; these exist to try and persuade simple minded voters that restricting the use of their single vote to a ‘selection’ between two candidates for neither of whom they would never normally vote will thereby guarantee the election of the person for whom they really want to cast their vote.

Even proxy, postal or online votes can be cast only once, which means that each vote has to be truly aimed at the candidate which represents the views attached to it.

However, proxy, postal or online votes are truly wasted votes.

‘Proxy’ votes seem to be designed for serving Forces personnel and so deny them their votes in person; postal votes are ideal for families who vote as one even where some members are absent (for example, students). Online votes are now insecure because those votes dubbed ‘indicative’ cast by officials seem to be worth more than twice as much as any vote cast by the general public.

Proxy, postal and online votes are all insecure because they are all transferable and hence undermine the principle of ‘one man, one vote’. They are usually advertised as being ‘flexible’ (Newspeak for ‘transferable’) but this flexibility is anti-democratic.

The voter is supposed to make himself available for this single day, because what is at stake is not on a par with doing the weekly shopping but rather the only official chance that is allowed for responding to a selection of options.

In any election only a secret ballot guarantees complete liberty of expression for the majority – even for the farcical EU elections.

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