Political Privacy - Motivation

Motivation

Because politics is fundamentally about settling disputes, it puts winners and losers in unique positions to avenge themselves on each other. In a democracy, the winner is physically vulnerable as they often appear in public to explain policies and gain additional support. The loser is also vulnerable as they are subject to the interpretation of criminal justice by winners - law enforcement is often prejudicial, and an independent judiciary is not always available to ensure fairness in how winners of a political conflict deal with losers. Uncertainty about who supported what measure, and the right to keep one's opinion to oneself and not be required to reveal it except voluntarily (such as by joining a political party or answering opinion polls), aren't generally challenged even by the most strident national security advocates. In this sense, supporters and detractors of the state have a common position: when operating within the existing legal bounds of a political system, opinions should be measured only in aggregate.

A jury also typically provides its opinion only as an aggregate and jurors have the right not to reveal whether they found someone 'guilty' in cases where a unanimous verdict is not required. When found 'not guilty', it is also not revealed who opposed or advocated a 'guilty' verdict - particularly important as the accused will now be set free and might be tempted to seek revenge against those who disbelieved him or her.