@Fargren: I would argue votes are easier to sell, with a secret ballot. The seller would be whoever is counting the votes. There could be a huge monetary gain f

@Fargren: I would argue votes are easier to sell, with a secret ballot. The seller would be whoever is counting the votes. There could be a huge monetary gain for that one counter (Diebold for instance), as opposed to relatively small amounts for individual voters. That being said, buying votes directly is illegal. If ballots were open, and someone bought votes, there would now be a paper trail.