A secret vote is an essential integrity issue because it allows voters the independence to vote their
conscience. If a vote is made in public, or can be identified when it is counted, the voter could be
intimidated into voting a different way. In the case of manual voting methods which are still used in most countries, secrecy is usually achieved by marking a standard ballot
in a private place, such as behind a screen, out of the sight of others. It is then placed in a ballot
box where it is mixed with many other ballots, making it impossible to trace back to a specific
voter. The number of ballot boxes that need to be mixed together before counting to ensure the secrecy of the ballot can be an issue which is discussed in Counting.
Secrecy makes intimidation or coercion less effective. It also makes it more difficult for special
interest groups, unions or ethnic groups to 'deliver the vote' for certain candidates or political parties.
Secrecy is only effective if it is enforced and therefore mechanisms have to be designed and implemented to ensure that privacy rules are
respected during voting and that nothing is done that would jeopardize that secrecy. In Mexico, for instance, the electoral law makes polling officials responsible for the protection of the secrecy of the vote
and punishes those who know of conditions or activities that affect the freedom and secrecy of
vote, and who do not act to correct the situation.
