If Election day is approachingmarried women across America are wondering: Can my husband find out who I voted for? At least, that’s the bet of some Kamala Harris supporters, and so they remind women that no one, not even your Trump-supporting husband, needs to know who you’re voting for.
According to the U.S. government, secret voting has been around since the late 1800s NPRand is considered a cornerstone of democracy. That means the only way anyone else can find out how you voted is if you tell them yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you are married, or even officially registered with another political party.
Polls show this Harris has much stronger support from women than Trumpmeaning that at least some heterosexual married households will be divided when it comes to the voting booth. Some groups, such as the progressive evangelical group Vote Common Good, have launched campaign initiatives to assure women they do not have to tell their husbands if they are voting for Harris over Trump.
One ad from the group, narrated by Julia Robertsshows a couple entering a polling station together. As the woman enters the voting booth, she looks at another woman standing across from her and votes for the Harris-Walz ticket. Roberts says in voiceover, “In the only place in America where women still have the right to choose, you can vote any way you want and no one will ever know.” The implication is that the husband expects his wife to vote for Trump like him, and she refuses to tell him otherwise.
There is also a guerrilla campaign underway, per Mrs. Magazinein which women leave post-its in public spaces such as women’s toilets, with notes reminding women that their vote is secret. “From woman to woman, your voice is private,” reads one example.