In the AMERICA I grew up in, there was a sanctity to voting in that YOUR vote was private. You didn't ask, you didn't tell. You didn't discuss it at work, and if you were smart, you didn't discuss it with your wife.
It seemed to be a much more SANE way.
Unless I am mistaken, the parties have election challengers who check whether a voter is a registered republican or democrat? That’s what they do on election day here. They don’t know how they voted, they just check off their voters on their lists.
The only poll I’ve ever answered in my life was a neilsen one about 25 years ago. And thats because they paid me a dollar in advance :-)
Part of the reason is that many polls are really just elicitation attempts to gather data/information thats plugged into systems like the Dem’s Catalist.
However, the problem with not answering a “legitimate” public opinion poll is that the results will skew. Have enough Conservatives hang up and a poll may erroneously conclude that a Dem will win. This in turn could drive turnout FOR the Dem, via bandwagon effect.
The parties are not the same, I don’t criticize those who say this but the Democrat party has now veered off to the far left of la la land. First same sex marriage, they push abortion too, next thing, we’ll have euthanasia nationally or other controversial issues. Immigration, Illegal Immigration is another.
Maybe the reason to vote for a so-called Conservative or Republican is to keep this very radical agenda in check.
So, no I don’t think they are the same, abortion clinics have been closed through legislation in a number of states, even a renown blue state like New Jersey has seen such mills closed.