What are shy voters, and who are they? As Americans grow more and more anxious about Election Day on Nov. 5, it could be said that these are crucial yet mostly ignored questions. They shouldn’t be. Shy voters may determine a decisive win instead of a close race – which, as we well know, all the pollsters seem to be forecasting. It’s a tie, they claim, or it’s within the margin of error, or it’s zero point something. However, if the shy Trump voter is real (and many reasons suggest it is), it will mean a big win for former President Donald Trump.
First, a little History
Back in the day, voting booths used to be behind a curtain. There’s a reason for that. Voting in America is a private affair. It’s really no one else’s business. When I was growing up, politics wasn’t discussed often in my home. Yet I can’t remember an election in which my parents did not vote. Only much later would I learn that they canceled out each other’s vote every year. Coming from a family with a small business, my father voted Republican; my mother, whose father was a Pittsburgh steelworker, voted Democratic. Still, this was never spoken of, as best as I can remember.
The long history of voting privacy still prevails today, but not until 2016, when shy Trump voters burst onto the scene, was it seriously discussed. However, there are three reasons why the shy-voter effect will likely shape the 2024 election.
The Shy Trump Voter – It’s None of Your Beeswax
These days, a plethora of pollsters out there are dying to get information about how you will vote. Yet there’s no rule saying you must answer their phone calls or texts, and many choose to ignore them. Some may want to throw pollsters off the scent by answering falsely, but more often, shy voters will decide not to partake in the survey efforts that come their way. Why would that be?
Perhaps the toxic nature of the presidential campaigns has made Americans reticent to stand up and state their preferences. Name-calling – such as irredeemable, deplorable, and most recently “garbage” – has been hurled at Trump voters. Maybe that makes them all the more determined to show up and vote – but damned if they are going to tell anyone. And who could blame them? Voting is their right, no matter what nasty vitriol is spewed their way. So their vote becomes a defiant statement, as is their privilege.
Another seemingly insignificant indication that there are more shy voters than you can shake a stick at is the lack of lawn signs in use this year. Many political strategists will tell you lawn signs have long been a precursor to the victor: the man or woman with the most lawn signs wins. Simple but true. In many states this year, there are fewer visible lawn signs. Worse, there is verified evidence of lawn sign vandalism. “Political lawn signs have become a flash point in the Philadelphia suburbs, with both Republican and Democratic organizers reporting upticks in theft and vandalism even as some communities in other swing states move away from signs altogether to avoid disputes,” according to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the battleground state of Michigan, the Associated Press interviewed 37-year-old Nick Hannawa about opting out of displaying a lawn sign this year: “Some people love Donald Trump. Some people hate Donald Trump. I voted for Donald Trump. I’m going to vote for Donald Trump again. If I put that sign in my yard again, is it really going to make a difference or is someone not going to like me?” Meanwhile, a Liberty Nation News reader mentioned the fact that there were so few signs this year in her neighborhood that when she ran across one Trump sign, she said to herself, “Boy, those people must have a lot of guts.” For the sake of peace or not wanting to offend one’s neighbor, lawn signs are getting the heave-ho in 2024.
It Happened in 2016
There is precedent for the shy voter, based on the 2016 election results. Axios reported in September, “61% of Americans admit to ‘self-silencing’ – keeping their true opinions on sensitive topics to themselves.” If this number pans out, it would mean a massive amount of shy voters are out there. Any way you turn this Rubik’s Cube, it seems the shy Trump voter is alive and well and ready to exercise his or her franchise.
