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6 - Catch Me If You Can

Why Voters Comply or Defect under the Secret Ballot

from Part III - The Micro Perspective: How Electoral Gifts Influence Voter Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2026

Kenneth F. Greene
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
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Summary

This final chapter on mechanisms argues that recipients of electoral gifts have a partisan view of ballot secrecy. When opposition recipients only see machine representatives in their voting place on Election Day, they fear that ballot secrecy could be compromised and are more likely to believe the machine’s threats to impose costly sanctions for voting their sincere preferences. Recipient compliance is thus more likely in machine-dominant constituencies. When recipients also see opposing-party representatives at the polls, they are prone to believe that ballot secrecy is preserved and that they can vote their true preferences without incurring costs. This argument provides a new rationale for the protective influence of poll watchers and adds nuance to the standard institutional claim that de jure ballot secrecy alone undermines vote buying. Tests use observational survey data, survey experiments, and fieldwork in Mexico.

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  • Catch Me If You Can
  • Kenneth F. Greene, University of Texas, Austin
  • Book: Against the Machine
  • Online publication: 18 September 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009776738.009
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  • Catch Me If You Can
  • Kenneth F. Greene, University of Texas, Austin
  • Book: Against the Machine
  • Online publication: 18 September 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009776738.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Catch Me If You Can
  • Kenneth F. Greene, University of Texas, Austin
  • Book: Against the Machine
  • Online publication: 18 September 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009776738.009
Available formats
×