Political privacy has been a concern since voting systems emerged in ancient times. The secret ballot is the simplest and most widespread measure to ensure that political views are not known to anyone other than the voter—it is nearly universal in modern democracy, and considered a basic right of citizenship. Even where other rights of privacy do not exist, this type of privacy very often does.
Read more about Political Privacy: Motivation, In Legislatures, Political Privacy of Individuals, Government Encroachment On Political Privacy, Arguments For Limitation of Political Privacy, Anonymous Authorship of Political Opinions
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or privacy:
“From the beginning, the placement of [Clarence] Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation raises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important, about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth—and those who tell it—are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way to winning.”
—Jane Mayer, U.S. journalist, and Jill Abramson b. 1954, U.S. journalist. Strange Justice, p. 8, Houghton Mifflin (1994)
“All violations of essential privacy are brutalizing.”
—Katharine Fullerton Gerould (1879–1944)