Earlier this week, while stumping for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in a Detroit suburb, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney made the case for Harris to suburban Republican and independent women.
At one point, she assured them that no one ― not your husband, not your family ― will know who you vote for.
“If you’re at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody,” Cheney said as she sat side by side with Harris. “And there will be millions of Republicans who do that on Nov. 5.”
That’s true: Whether or not you voted is public record, but how you voted in local, state or national elections is kept a secret; there’s no official way to search for how someone voted.
This election cycle is so heated and hyperpartisan, some people say they’re planning to do just what Cheney suggested: Hide whom they’re really voting for from their spouses and family.
Certainly, in worst-case scenarios, there are people in controlling or abusive relationships who have serious fears about how their spouse will respond if they vote for candidate A rather than the favored candidate B.
But most people we spoke to for this story said they’re voting their conscience while keeping it a secret ― or in some cases, outright lying ― just to avoid awkward or tense conversations in mixed political marriages or families.
That’s true for Avery, a 30-year-old veteran from eastern Florida, who’s voting for Harris this time rather than Trump. (Like others in this piece, Avery asked to use her first name only to protect her privacy.)
“As a veteran, I take great offense to the insurrection he incited on Jan. 6,” she said. “And with [Harris] and Tim Walz, I think they’re respectable, intelligent people and I agree with their policies. When I watch them speak, I don’t feel embarrassed for our country.”
She’s not letting her husband or his pro-Trump immigrant family know her voting plans, though, to avoid any unnecessary family drama.
Hellbound and Down 