The concept of flexible delegation is really interesting, but what about secrecy of the ballot? Is there any way that can be ensured? The article does not touch on the subject, unfortunately.
I hope you can turn that off!
And because it's frankly nobody else's business how I vote ?
On the other hand, if you publicly voted "pro-choice" instead of "pro-life", there's no way you can deny it. So it comes down to plausible deniability. As to why you would want to deny your own choice in the first place, several other commenters have already explained that.
On the other hand, openness of course leads to transparency, and transparency prevents corruption and lobbying (to a considerable degree, at least). Interestingly though, this is also due to social pressure.
My vision would be a system that combines techniques such as the ones deployed in BitCoin and NameCoin (Public Keys) to ensure unique identities but still preserve anonymity. In a such a system, everyone could freely speak their mind anonymously, yet still be accountable (in this case meaning he or she can be identified as some individual, but not as a specific person). This would also lead to reducing debates to facts and arguments, by effectively completely depersonalizing it. It would no longer be about people, it would be about problems, ideas and solutions.
I don't really know if this technically feasible (I'm not even sure if it makes sense to anyone but me), but I think it would solve many of the problems with real democracy.
This isn't really true. I'm interning at the Sunlight Foundation this Summer, and some of our free tools are used by lobbyists with less money to spend than some larger interests here in D.C.
Transparency can actually lead to more, but more varied, lobbying.
The really remarkable thing about transparency is just how much corruption is completely knowable and out in the open, yet totally ignored.
Your boss happens to be a friend of the candidate, or a member of a political party. You are told to vote a certain way or lose your job.
You are turned down for a bank loan because your bank manager doesn't like liberals.
You are refused an apartment because the people on your street don't like conservatives.
You fail at an interview because the interviewer only likes people who vote the way she does.
This is so bloody obvious it shouldn't need to be spelled out. Secret ballots are secret so that people can exercise their democratic rights without fear of discrimination, recrimination or intimidation.
The examples I gave are ways in which the democratic process can be subverted. It's more than just whether you are black or gay. It's the very basis by which a citizen can freely exercise their choice.
If that choice can be interfered with then the whole principle of one person - one vote goes out the window.
If I know my vote will impact my personal future - that I, or my family could be attacked or threatened, or my career ruined, because of the way I vote - even if that is just a potential threat then I will not vote at all, or if forced to will vote safely with the herd.
OK, I finally see what your point is. I just disagree with it.
What a strange and naive life you must lead if you truly believe this.