I was talking with a colleague last week who lives in a different side of the country and was in town for some collaborative work. We were discussing the election at some point and as we were driving, he pointed something out to me I hadn’t noticed. Nobody has a yard sign for their presidential pick, and bumper stickers were far and few between. We then conjectured on why thus year is different.

First of all nobody wants to own their pick. Its an embarrassment to have to vote with the party. While I think we will have a lot of people doing just that, there is a feeling of duress, because the other side is so bad, or evil, or corrupt ad nauseum.

Second, history may judge the pick, and the less your neighbors and friends know about your vote the easier it is to retcon your vote later.

Third, there may be people living in a red state who will vote opposite of their neighbors or vice versa and they don’t want to suffer the social consequences of switching sides.

We both come from extreme red states, Idaho and Tenessee, so your mileage may vary. Anyone else noticed the total lack of political adornment?