The development of the Australian ballot is an important democratic development because it encourages sincere voting. While some political parties engaged in vote buying go to great lengths to undermine ballot secrecy and ensure compliance from voters receiving gifts, learning how individuals voted on a scale large enough to matter electorally is an enormous undertaking. However, parties buying votes do not need to actually monitor each individual's ballot for vote buying to be a successful strategy. If they can create doubt among their constituents about ballot monitoring, voters may feel compelled to vote as instructed rather than sincerely. Thus, political parties engaged in vote buying should aim to create uncertainty about their ability to monitor ballots. To better understand voter beliefs about ballot monitoring, we conducted public opinion surveys in 12 Latin American countries. Our results show considerable variance in confidence in ballot secrecy both across and within countries.
