Shhh . . . the biggest secret of the 2024 race could end up being voters who keep quiet about who they’re voting for.
Two of Vice President Kamala Harris’ most famous supporters are narrating new ads from Vote Common Good, a progressive evangelical group. George Clooney and Julia Roberts narrate his-and-hers ads about voting your conscience without telling anyone. Clooney’s ad “Remember Who We Love The Most When We Vote” shows a man walking into a polling place with his male buddies, one of whom says, “come on, boys, let’s make America great again.”
“Before you cast your vote in this election, think about how it’ll impact the people you care about the most,” Clooney says, showing the man, a father, mark his ballot for Harris. “What happens in the booth stays in the booth. Vote Harris-Walz.”
Roberts’ ad, “Your Vote, Your Choice,” also references male pressure, this time in the form of a woman’s husband telling her, “It’s your turn, honey,” when she goes to vote. She too votes for Harris, and when her husband asks, “Did you make the right choice?” she responds, “Sure did, honey,” and gives her female friend a knowing glance.
“In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want and no one will ever know,” Roberts says.
Urging voters to cross party lines has long been an important part of building an election-winning coalition, but Republican Harris supporters see it as especially important this year. Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said last month on CBS News she thinks “you’re going to have, frankly, a lot of men and women who will go into the voting booth and will vote their conscience and will vote for Vice President Harris. They may not ever say anything publicly but the results will speak for themselves.” These ads are an attempt to make these secret voters visible.
YouGov polling released this week found one in eight women have secretly voted differently than their partners, so some women who see the Roberts-narrated ad will relate, but the message that your vote is secret is a particularly important one for people who don’t normally vote.
Misconceptions about voter privacy are widespread, Yale researchers found in a field experiment published in 2019, particularly among non-voters. “We find that people who have not previously voted are particularly likely to harbor doubts about the secrecy of voters’ ballots,” the study’s authors wrote.
Voting can be intimidating enough if you don’t do it regularly, doubly so if you think people will be able to find out you voted for a candidate your loved ones might not approve of. By letting people know their vote is secret, Harris’ Hollywood supporters are doing their part to help nudge irregular or non-voters to the polls.
This story was originally published on Yello, a newsletter about politics, art, branding, and design