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Different Kinds of Ballots The debate over the Florida ballots in the presidential election in 2000 began a nationwide interest in the kinds of ballots that have been used in the United States throughout the years. There have been many different tools utilized in voting, with varied efficiency and reliability. This paper will cover what some of these ballots are, as well as discuss some of their strengths and shortcomings. We will look at the history of the use of these different voting methods, their use today, and issues that could lead to inaccuracy or fraud in voting. As America developed, ballots came into use that were known as "papers, and the word "ballot" was not adopted until the 1670 's.
The British colonies in America were the first to use a secret ballot, which later became widespread, but the secrecy of ballots was not a main issue until the 1830 's, when the right to secrecy along with suffrage was a major political focus. Even the the ballots that Americans would recognize today, which display the names of all of the candidates, had still not made their appearance. Until the 1880 s, there was no single ballot and instead political parties used long "tickets" that listed all the candidates running for office for that particular party. In this way, voters were encouraged to "vote a straight party ticket. " The paper ballot was first used in the Australian state of Victoria in 1857, and listed all the candidates. It was first known as "the Australian ballot, " and in 1889 New York became the first American state to utilize these ballots.
Gradually, it came to replace voting by ticket. Even though their use was once commonplace, today only 1. 7 % of registered voters use paper ballots. They are primarily used in small towns and rural areas, or for absentee voting. This type of ballot presents a major problem with accuracy; a corrupt election administration can ensure bias in the final count by carefully distorting the makeup of the tally team members, and by crafting standards governing what marks on the ballot count as votes to be helpful for a specific candidate. There have also been other problems with these ballots. It is estimated that 4 to 6 million votes, cast on paper ballots, were "lost" in the controversial 2000 Presidential election.
According to statistics from the boards of elections for the State of New York, the lost vote rate is much higher in minority communities than in predominantly white areas of New York City; in some cases, communities of color suffer twice the rate of undergoing. A strong advantage for paper ballots like these, however, is that there is a physical record of election results that stands as proof of an election outcome. Until relatively recently, more than half of all American voters used machines that had levers beside the name of each candidate; these machines have become practically the image that goes hand-in-hand with the voting process. The voter entered a booth, drew a curtain, and then pulled the levers corresponding to each voting choice. These machines recorded the votes, as well a the numbers of people voting. Mechanical level machines, also known as the "Myers Automatic Booth, " made their first appearance in the U.
S. at Lockport, N. Y. , in 1892. They were also used four years later in Rochester, New York, and they were soon used across New York State. Residents of most major American cities voted on these mechanical machines by 1930. In the 1996 presidential elections, however, only roughly 20 % of all voters used the machines, and they are no longer made.
A major problem with these lever machines is that they do not produce printed paper records as required by the Help America Vote Act, which are necessary for recounts. The lever machines can also only provide ballots in a limited number of languages, and they do not allow private voting for many people with disabilities, requiring them to seek assistance from poll workers who could be biased. Direct recording electronic systems are now replacing the older lever machines. The famous "butterfly" ballot used in Florida is a type of punch card ballot. There are two main types of punch card ballot.
To use one type, voters are given a list of candidates and ballot questions, and each voting choice is assigned a number. They also receive a punch card covered with holes, with a number beside each hole. They must punch the hole that corresponds to the number of the choice they wish to make. For example, ballot question 8 might have two choices: number 10 for "yes" and number 11 for "no. " Voters would have to punch the hole at the correct number to register their preference. In using the other type, voters make a hole beside the name of the candidate of their choice. Punch cards were first used in two Georgia counties for the 1964 presidential primary election.
In 1996, 37 % of all voters used punch cards, including the 3. 8 million registered voters in Los Angeles County, which is the nation's largest electoral jurisdiction. Advocates for this type of voting point out that it leaves a paper trail that can verify election results. An obvious flaw with this type of voting is that a card could be punched incorrectly, or it could be punched in a way that the intended vote is not discernable, in which case it is a residual, or non-counting vote. As an example, the ten largest punch card counties in California had an average residual vote rate of 7. 77 % in 2003, and California counties that had employed non-punch card systems since 1996 had an average residual vote rate of 2. 14 % in 2003.
These punch card ballots are also handled by election volunteers, who could accidentally or purposefully break out other paper holes, ruining that vote. This was the basis of the hanging-chad controversy during the election recount of 2000. Another issue with the punch card system, which was made infamous in the 2000 elections, is that it can be very complicated and confusing to some voters, especially the elderly. The mark sense system, which is also known as optical scan, is becoming increasingly popular. In 1996, 25 % of all American voters used the mark sense system. Voters use a black marker fill in a circle or box beside their voting choice, and then a scanning machine using optical scanning cells detects the dark markers on the paper and tabulates the results.
A potential problem with these is that the computer reader can easily misread smudges on the ballot or bubbles that are incompletely marked, and count the vote toward the wrong candidate. Proponents point out that a benefit of this system is that it is much more efficient than other methods that have been used. The direct recording electronic method, DRE, uses a voting machine with the candidates printed on a computer screen. The voters push a button or the appropriate spot on the surface to record their choices, and those who want to write-in a candidate are able to use a keyboard to type the candidate's name. In 1996, nearly 8 % of voters used a DRE system.
Again, an advantage of this type of voting system is its efficiency. In our high-technology society, however, a problem with these machines might be vulnerability to hackers by precinct staffers. Like other modern voting systems, they also may be confusing to the computer illiterate and elderly who are not accustomed or comfortable with this technology. Finally, the technology-free type of voting which is used in town meeting forms of government, and is mainly confined to the six New England states, decides questions of government with an actual show of hands. If the vote is close, there are provisions in most towns for a secret paper ballot, and in some cases the town meeting moderator could ask voters to stand. Voting of this nature leaves no room for technological mistakes or minus, but bias in the counter could lead to inaccurate count as with paper balloting.
While various voting methods are used today in the United States, the Federal Election Commission leads a consortium that has written standards that help ensure that electronic systems are accurate and fair. Each of the voting types that have been covered have both benefits and downfalls, and every system gives the opportunity for fraud; mainly it is important that a voting system that best fits the area and the population is chosen to ensure a fair election process. References Fund, John. Stealing Elections. San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2004. Harris, Bev.
Black Box Voting: Ballot Tampering in the 21 st Century. Renton, WA: Talion Publishing, 2004. Messina, Lynn. U. S. Election System.
New York: H. W. Wilson, 2004. Pleasant's, Julian. Hanging Chads.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Shaffer, William R. Computer Simulations of Voting Behavior. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.
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Research essay sample on Presidential Election Registered Voters
