Discussion Questions_ An Australian Ballot
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Political Science
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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Discussion Questions:
An Australian Ballot for California?
The following are questions that you and your discussion group will use to draw
conclusions about the issues found in this Case Method reading. Ultimately, everyone
should be able to answer the following:
Given all the different pros and cons, what
would you recommend? Should Governor Markham sign or veto the bill?
1.
What was the “ticket” system and how did it typically work in the 19th century?
The ticket system involved voters casting pre printed ballots distributed by
political parties. On election day, party operatives handed out distinctive tickets
right outside the polling place. Voters would collect a ticket, step up to the voting
window, and hand their tickets to election judges, who deposited them publicly.
2.
Why did political parties end up with so much control over the voting process with
the ticket system? Did this serve any social purpose?
This system gave parties great control over the ballots and the voting process. It
helped them mobilize supporters, but also enabled voter intimidation and bribery
since operatives could see how each person voted. The system may have served
some positive social purposes like encouraging participation and partisan
affiliation.
3.
Is there anything wrong with public (non-secret) voting? If you think public voting
is a bad idea, why do we generally want the votes of lawmakers to be public?
There are valid arguments on both sides. Public voting promotes accountability
and transparency. However, it also enables coercion and limits free democratic
choice. Lawmakers' votes are made public to provide accountability, but voters
are ordinary citizens who may need privacy.
4.
Did the ticket system raise or lower barriers to entry and participation for new
political parties?
The ticket system made it relatively easy for new parties to participate by printing
and distributing their own tickets. So it lowered barriers to entry for new parties.
5.
What should Governor Markham do? What would this reform mean for the
Republican Party, which dominated the state of California at that time?
As a Republican, Governor Markham might be inclined to veto reform, since the
GOP dominated California politics at the time. However, the reform had
bipartisan support and public pressure for change was building. Vetoing it could
hurt the GOP politically in the long run. I would recommend signing the reform
bill, but trying to shape its implementation in a way that still allows the
Republicans to thrive.
Your turn:
Write two more discussion questions that reference other parts of the reading you found
interesting (and not mentioned in the questions above). Also, you must provide an
answer to your questions.
Note: questions must be open-ended and leave room for
interpretation by other participants.
6.
What were some of the tactics political machines used to influence election
results, besides direct bribery and intimidation of voters? How might the
Australian ballot help address those issues?
Machines engaged in tactics like vote fraud and ballot box stuffing that the Australian
ballot could help stop. For example, they used "repeaters" to illegally cast multiple
ballots, and floated in groups of paid voters from outside districts to influence results.
The private, uniform ballots made these tricks harder to pull off. However, machines still
controlled the administration of elections under the Australian system.
7.
The reading mentions that voting had traditionally been public and many saw
secret ballots as cowardly or dishonest. Do you think these attitudes made
reform more difficult? Why might some have seen secret ballots as cowardly?
Yes, the cultural attitudes valuing public voting probably did make reform more difficult.
Some saw secret ballots as cowardly because they prevented voters from openly
showing allegiance to their party or candidates. The belief was citizens should be willing
to stand behind their votes publicly rather than hiding their choices.
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