RB News World Latest News
Related Articles
After about 20 days, America will get a new president for the next four years. On November 5, the American public will vote for their favorite candidate. In the presidential race, Donald Trump is from the Republican Party and Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party. In the US, one of the most developed countries in the world, the President is still elected through ballot paper and not through electronic voting machines.
One more thing to note here is that November 5 may be the last day when American voters vote. But before that, many lakhs of people have already voted through ballot paper or mail-in voting. This process is also called early voting. So on this pretext, let us know how the ballot paper of America looks like, for which posts other than the President, votes are cast?
What is the ballot paper like?
The ballot paper used in the American election is a total of 13 pages. The method of filling the ballot paper is written on the first page. In which the voter is instructed to use only pencil, black or blue pen.
On the second page, the names of all the 4 parties – Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Better, Green – are written at the top.
After that, the public has to choose the name of the President and Vice President at number one. The names of the President and Vice President are written together. An oval-like shape is made in front of all these names, which has to be filled with a pencil or black-blue pen. Using a red pen is strictly prohibited.
Apart from the President, the public also elects the Governor, Attorney General, US Congress representative and state representatives through this single ballot. Therefore, their names and party information are written on the paper.
Supreme Court judges will also be elected
The tenure of the Supreme Court judges of the US state of Missouri is also ending on December 31, 2024. All these judges are also elected through this ballot. The voter is asked whether the tenure of these judges should remain intact or not. The public has to fill in the oval in front of yes or no. This is how the election of circuit judges and associate judges takes place.
The only way of e-voting in America is to vote by email or fax. In this too, the voter is sent a ballot form, which he fills and can email or fax.
Why still vote by ballot paper?
The answer is for security. It has been claimed in many reports that the American public does not trust the electronic system as much as it considers paper ballots safe. American citizens believe that EVMs can be hacked and paper ballots are more reliable, in which their vote goes where they want.
Since when is ballot paper being used?
For the first 50 years of American elections, the public did not have the facility to express their choice on paper. Instead, they had to go to the local court to vote. And they had to cast their vote publicly by speaking loudly. Known as ‘Viva Voce’ or voice voting, this voting was the law in many states until the beginning of the 19th century.
Then in the early 19th century, paper ballots came into use for the first time. Initially, these ballots were nothing more than pieces of paper. On which voters would write the names of their candidates and put them in the ballot box. After this, the punch card voting system was also in use for a few years. Many irregularities were found. The design of the ballot paper was changed. Then after the 2000 presidential election, voting in America started happening completely through ballot paper.
