November 4th is Election Day in the United States. Elections and voting can be quite different throughout the world. The whole process has changed quite a bit over the years. Before you go to the polls, check out some of these interesting facts about elections and voting.
U.S. Voting
– Only male property owners that were white were allowed to vote when the Constitution was first written.
– Until 1891, oral voting was what Kentucky used.
– The first paper ballot was used in the Massachusetts church in 1629. It was used to elect a bishop.
– New York introduced the first lever voting machine in 1892.
– The 19th amendment allowed women the right to vote. Congress passed it in 1919 and it was ratified in 1920.
– The Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed individuals to vote no matter what their race or socio-economic status was.
– The minimum voting age was established to be 18 by the 26th amendment in 1971.
Voting In Other Countries
– In Bolivia it’s mandatory to vote if you want to get paid. Those who don’t vote are often times not allowed to cash their paychecks if they don’t have their voting card with them.
– Just like the U.S., Australia has a plurality voting system.
– Private voting has been allowed in France since 1795.
– Japan, Switzerland and Israel have one of the most complex voting system. It’s called the D’Hondt method and uses very complex algorithms to determine the results of an election.
– Finland no longer uses electronic voting because of flaws in the system that caused around 2% of votes to not be counted in trial runs.
– Japanese voters have to write the person’s name they are trying to elect into a box on a ballot instead of just checking it off.
– Australia and Ireland used a ranked ballot system so that they can easily do an “instant runoff” if there is a tie in votes.
– Many European countries do not use the plurality method, but rather proportional representation. This gives each party a certain percentage of seats that are based on the amount of votes that they have earned.
Don’t forget to get out and vote this Election Day. Most polling places do have extended hours so you can vote before or after work. If you find yourself waiting in line, you can always share some of the facts above to not only pass the time, but to impress a stranger. Happy voting!
