Voting in a democracy

This period of political chaos in Israel calls to mind a popular tale from the days of the Soviets. An election to the Supreme Soviet is in progress, and Dmitri Pavlov, a peasant from a village near Moscow, arrives at the polling station to cast his vote. He takes his place in the queue and finally reaches the table of the secretariat. His name is checked on the voters’ list.

The chairman draws a slip from a pile on the table, and puts it into an envelope from a second pile. He is about to slide the envelope into the slotted ballot box nearby when Pavlov calls out: “Hey, comrade, let me see whom I am voting for!” The chairman gives the peasant a shocked look. “Don’t you know, Comrade Petrov” he says “that in a democracy, the ballot is secret!”