So you vote the way they want and don't report it to the cops and without any other mechanism of detecting it they get away with it.
Votes are cast over a period of a couple weeks and are distributed well in both time and space.
It is very difficult to line up the needed criminals and have them lean on many people over a non trivial amount of time and space.
And the criminals cannot really verify the vote cast.
So, let's say they unionize. Break a lot of kneecaps over the next year?
All that will come out and won't look pretty.
By contrast, discouraging votes by forcing everyone to gather in one hard to miss group takes far fewer criminals. It all happens on one day too.
The key thing is that distribution in time and space. The mechanics of coercion are very different.
Nobody knows who has ballots, when and whether they have voted and or any number can report too.
Criminals would be facing a high risk scenario and a high resource requirement.
How does this help you? It makes it easier because you can send one goon to a hundred people over the course of weeks instead of needing a hundred goons. Everybody knows ahead of time that this is going to happen and they'll be punished if they submit their ballot before the goon arrives to watch.
> And the criminals cannot really verify the vote cast.
What do you mean? They watch you put it into a mailbox. Or just take your ballot and mail it themselves.
> So, let's say they unionize. Break a lot of kneecaps over the next year?
That only happens if they fail. If they succeed you don't have to punish anybody.
> All that will come out and won't look pretty.
Assuming people who have just had a violence demonstration will be inclined to invite more for reporting it to the police.
> By contrast, discouraging votes by forcing everyone to gather in one hard to miss group takes far fewer criminals. It all happens on one day too.
Except that all happening in one place on one day is the advantage because it allows that day and that place to be secured by impartial monitors who ensure that nobody there is looking at anybody else's ballot.
That coercion is a crime.
Given a time window to vote and mail, and a secrecy process where the validation of the vote is physically separated from the vote to be counted, secrecy is there.
The real question is whether Oregon style processes are available.
If they are, the election will be solid.
On the back end, validation, counting are done in a secure place under camera.
Election fraud is also a crime.
Vote by mail works just fine when well implemented.