To vote in the United States, one must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old on election day. States also require various periods of residency before voting is permitted. Most states have two other rules as well: A voter cannot be a felon (someone who has committed a serious crime) or mentally incompetent.
In all states, voting is free. It is also voluntary; no one can be forced to vote. It is also a crime to try to stop another person from voting. Voting is private — no one can see how another person votes. And a person may vote only once in any election.
Each state, county, city, or ward (division of a city) is divided into voting districts called precincts. Before voting, people must register to vote in the precinct where they live. This consists of filling out a form with one's name, address, and other information. Registration ensures that people vote in the right place. People can usually register by mail.
Registration laws vary from state to state. In some states, citizens can register on election day. Typically, however, the registration deadline is several weeks before this. If a person fails to register in time, he or she will not be allowed to vote.
Elections may take place at many different times. In the United States, general elections (for federal officials) are held every two years in even-numbered years. They are held on the Tuesday that falls between November 2 and 8.
In most cases, people vote by machine in private voting booths. Because elections in the United States are generally run by state and local governments, many kinds of voting machines and devices are in use. Today these have become increasingly computerized. A voter may touch a computer screen to cast a ballot or may fill out a computer-readable paper form.
People can also vote by mail; they submit what is known as an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots are especially useful for those who have difficulty getting to the polling place or who are away from their hometowns on election day.
After all the votes have been cast, poll workers and election officials count them (usually with help from computers) and declare which candidates and ballot measures (votes on public issues) have won.
Winning the Right to Vote
In the early days of the United States, only about 120,000 people in a total population of more than 4 million could vote. Voting was usually limited to free white men who owned property and met certain religious qualifications. Eventually the right to vote became more widespread. By 1860 almost every state allowed all white men over 21 to vote.
After the Civil War (1861–65) the 15th Amendment to the Constitution gave the vote to men of all races. In practice, however, most black people in the South did not gain the right to vote until the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Women, after a long political struggle, won the right to vote in 1920 with the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
The right to vote has been further extended in recent decades. In 1971 the 26th Amendment to the Constitution gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. More recently, federal law has guaranteed the vote to people with disabilities and to those whose first language is not English.
Another important advance in the voting process has been the secret ballot. This allows people to vote without worrying about retaliation from others, including those in power. At one time, voting was not private. Before the Civil War, U.S. citizens often said their votes out loud or voted by raising their hands. After the Civil War, printed ballots became common. However, since these were distributed by individual candidates or parties and were often different colors or shapes, it was usually possible to tell whom someone was voting for.
It was not until the 1890s, when the Australian ballot came into use, that voting became truly secret. Under this system (so named for its earlier use in Australia), the names of all qualifying candidates were printed on a single ballot by the government. These could only be distributed at polling places, where voting was done in private booths. The use of voting machines has further ensured the secrecy of the vote.
Voting Today
In the United States, voter turnout — the percentage of qualified voters who vote — often depends on the type of election being held. More people tend to vote in presidential elections than in other kinds. Even in this case, though, many people who are qualified to vote do not. In the 2000 presidential election, for example, only 51 percent of the electorate (all qualified voters) turned out.
This was not considered unusual. But other voting issues during the 2000 election drew considerable public attention. Significant flaws in the voting process were revealed when the vote in Florida required a recount that lasted for 36 days. A close examination of the results showed that thousands of people had voted incorrectly. Thousands of other votes were unclear.
In fact, experts believe that between 1 and 4 percent of all votes are not counted as the voter intended. In 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act to help eliminate voting errors and to give states money to improve their voting systems. However, some computer experts and citizens' groups continue to question the accuracy of computerized voting machines.
In 2004, a proposal to allow military personnel and other U.S. citizens living abroad to vote via the Internet was canceled after computer experts tested the process and found that it would be impossible to prevent hackers from tampering with election results.
Watch this 3 minute video on the History of Voting.
View this 3 minute video as well.
This is the link for Monday's homework.
Check out the Election Map tomorrow as the voting results trickle in across the country!
This is the link for Monday's homework.
Check out the Election Map tomorrow as the voting results trickle in across the country!
Comment: Tell us two things you learned from the reading above and one thing from a video.
One thing I learned from the reading above was that we got our voting ballot from Australia. Another thing I learned was that in 2000 only 51% of eligible voters voted for the Presidential election. I learned that it took African Americans almost 100 years to actually get the right to vote even though there was already an amendment. I knew that there was racism stoping them from voting I just did not know how long it took for them to have equal voting.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I learned from the reading above is that in 2002, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act to help eliminate voting errors and to give states money to improve their voting systems. I also learned that it was not until the 1890's until the Australian ballot came into use. One thing I learned from the video is that young people were the ones who who often made the votes rise, when if they didn't vote, there might be a different outcome.
ReplyDeleteFrom the reading above, I learned that in the 2000 election, only 51 percent of eligible voters voted. From the videos, I learned that President Lincoln said that if any black man is intelligent or has served in a war, he should be allowed to vote
ReplyDeleteFrom the reading above, I learned that our military and other American citizens living outside of the United States are not allowed to vote through the Internet. In 2004, computer experts said they could not guarantee that their Internet votes would be safe from hacking or tampering. The other thing I learned from the reading is that I didn't realize that we did not always vote by secret ballot.
ReplyDeleteFrom the video called “A History of Voting Rights”, I learned that the Modern Civil Rights Act of 1957 was filibustered for over 24 hours by Senator Strom Thurmond. Senator Thurmond did not want the bill to pass, but it passed anyway.
one thing i learned from reading above was that after the Civil War that lasted from 1861-1865, men of any race were able to vote. Another thing i learned was that in 2002, Congress passed the "Help America Vote Act" to help eliminate voting errors and to give states money to improve their voting systems.
ReplyDeleteFrom the video I learned that slaves fought for over 100 years to be able to vote, because they were trying to stop us with violence, literary tests and pole taxes.
I learned from the reading that after the civil war any man was able to vote nomadder what race he was. i also learned that people living outside of the united state can not vote on the internet. and also my computer wont let me watch the videos.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the first video I learned that to keep black men from voting people in power placed enforced poll taxes. In the reading, I learned that before 1971 you were only allowed to vote if you were 21 or older. And that you cannot vote if you are a felon.
ReplyDeleteFrom the reading, I learned that it's a crime to try to stop someone else from voting, and that a felon or somebody mentally incompetent, cannot vote. From the video, I learned that even after all men were allowed to vote, African Americans had to fight for almost another 100 years to get equal voting rights.
ReplyDeleteFrom the second video I learned that Aberham Lincoln signed the 14th Amendment in order for all black male competent American citaziens to vote but of course the people high in state affairs could not put up with that so they made it very dificult for them to even try. The reading was quite informational and I learned that a lot of the voting is actually by computers and not from voters ballots like the ones our parents got. The second thing I learned was that the legal age of voting change in 1971 from 21 years old to just eight teen years old. The Federal government just guaranteed that people with disabilities are aloud to vote and people whose first language is not American are aloud to vote with no restrictions.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned from the second video was that out of all the Americans that are qualified to vote, only about half of them actually vote. The other thing I learned was that their is three sections in article three of the constitution.
ReplyDelete