fedmsg for voting?

[Toshio Kuratomi]

On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 1:50 PM, inode0 <inode0 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 3:38 PM, Matthew Miller
> <mattdm at fedoraproject.org> wrote:
>> On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 03:24:28PM -0500, inode0 wrote:
>>> > What is under question is that it publishes a message for each set of
>>> > votes cast by users[3].  It includes the number of votes cast, the fas
>>> > username of the person who did the voting, and in what election they
>>> > voted.  It does *not* include what the person voted for or against.
>>> That can often be easily obtained from the other information.
>>
>> Assuming the number of votes cast is removed, the two bits of new
>> information here are 1) person voted in a certain election and 2) when they
>> voted. Would it help if we removed #2, by storing the messages and releasing
>> them in random order when the election completes?
>
> No. In what election where the votes cast are secret is the fact of
> voting public? I can't recall ever participating in such an election
> but maybe my head is full of mud today. I have an expectation that my
> voting behavior is private.
>
I never considered this until today.  In the US elections I attend,
they have my name on a list at the voting precinct.  When I come in to
vote I sign my name and they mark that I've come in.  Until today I'd
never thought if that information was public record (ie: someone could
look it up at some later point in time) or if it was internal
bookkeeping and only accessible by certain people in case of voter
fraud.  After looking around the internet, it seems that it varies by
state.  In California, where I live, the records are available for
"election/political, scholarly, journalistic, or governmental purpose.
Requesters must apply to the California Secretary of State or the
county elections office for the records and must certify the purpose
for their request."  It looks like California is neither the most lax
nor the most restrictive state in this regard.

-Toshio