Is it rude to ask someone about how they vote ? Nope , no way of life . Not if you sandwich it between " How much weight have yougainedrecently ? " and " Do you think you’resinglebecause of your personality or your looks ? " It ’s all in how you frame in the doubt , you see !
But truly , asking someone how they voted is — by and large — not considered polite conversation , and in some places it ’s not even legal . ( We ’ll get to that later on . ) While some people may not mind the question , others look at it downright offensive , along the railway line of ask someone ’s pay or weight or how much they paid for their sign of the zodiac . Or peradventure the person voted for the party you ca n’t stand but does n’t feel like get into a political argument with you ( " Why ’d you support him ? Are you nuts ? " ) So , why endangerment asking ?
However , that does n’t necessarily mean any mention of politics is off point of accumulation ; in fact , trying to dissolve a direct political question might mean engaging in a more blanket discussion of the political summons . If someone has take you who you vote for , the estimable Miss Manners propose you turn the query into a conversation about the nature of the private vote and its changing importance through history [ source : Martin ] .
Now , no offense to Miss Manners ( which would deserve jail metre ) , but not everyone is capable of sidestepping a fickle personal discussion with a more general political discussion . If you ’ve been asked about your political inclinations or choices , it ’s probably best to give a pollyannaish dismissal and move on . ( " Oh , I ’m sick to dying of talking political science , unless it ’s ' House of Cards . ' Did you look out it ? " )
You also should be aware that in many states in the U.S. , you ’re specifically not allowed to do any electioneering in or near a polling area [ source : National Conference of State Legislatures ] . That does n’t have in mind you ’ll be throw in the gulag if you involve who someone voted for ( or volunteer the information about yourself ) , but it ’s something to be aware of if you ’re hanging out at polling places and trying to persuade folks to vote for the countywide cat - leash jurisprudence .
But Britain is a different story . Talking about the election in a polling place — period — is off limits . If you ’re so much as speaking with your spouse about whether to vote for the city councilman who want to ban recycling or the metropolis councilwoman who wants to ostracize trash collection , you ’ll be asked to go outside [ source : BBC ] . Also , you ca n’t vote if you ’re a major royal stag . So if you run into Prince William at the grocery store , do n’t ask him who he vote for . It ’s twice rude .
