We then look more closely at actual publicity, focusing on two moments of our political life (voting and deliberation) and two of its actors (citizens and representatives) (§2). Authors such as John Stuart Mill and Jon Elster are our guides here. Secret ballots have not always been the rule. Hence, shifting away from the open vote gave rise to fascinating debates, especially in the 19th century. We then move to analyze the reasons for and against public deliberation, with Elster’s argument from the civilizing force of hypocrisy being our starting point. At least two central questions should be kept in mind while reading this second part of the entry. First, are the arguments in favor of open/secret voting different from those in favor of open/secret deliberation? Second, how much weight should we attach, in philosophical arguments about publicity, to empirical claims, and have philosophers paid enough attention to relevant empirical complexities?