This document summarizes the voting process in the United States. It outlines who has the right to vote according to the Constitution and laws, as well as the registration process. On election day, voters go to their designated polling place to cast their ballot either via voting machine or absentee ballot. The votes are then counted at the polling places and collected by the election board to certify the winner. News media uses exit polls and early vote counts to predict winners on election night.

1. Chapter 10 Section 1: p. 236-239

2.  Early America: most voters were white, adult males
who owned property
◦ White adult males who could not afford property, women, African
American males, Native American males, and people under 21
were all barred from voting
 Today: Constitution states that the right to vote may not be
denied because of race, color, gender, or age – if the
person is at least 18
◦ People who have been convicted of serious crimes cannot vote
until they have served their sentence
 To be eligible to vote a person must be at least 18
years old, resident of the state for a specified
period, and a citizen of the US
◦ Most states require you to be registered

3.  People must register to vote before an election
◦ Most states require registration at least 25 days before an election
 Registration requirements vary
◦ Some states permit registration by mail or offering more convenient times and
places for in-person registration such as allowing registration at libraries and
schools
◦ National Voter Registration Act / Motor Voter Act: requires states to
allow people to register when they renew their drivers licenses
◦ Can also mail in registrations or register at state offices
 Registering involves filling out a form w/ address, name, age, and
party preference
◦ If you register as a Republican or Democrat you will be able to vote in primary
elections
◦ When a person registers for the 1st
time they must show proof of
citizenship, address, and age by showing a driver’s license or birth
certificate
 Once you are registered you are assigned to an election district
 On Election Day officials will use a list of voters registered in the
district to verify that the people who vote are eligible and to prevent
multiple votes

4.  Voters go to a polling place in their
precinct
o
Polling places are normally set up in public
buildings
 Polling places are generally open from
early morning to 7-8PM.
◦ Sample ballot is posted on the wall for
voters to study
◦ Once inside, a voter goes to the clerk’s
table to sign an application form.
◦ Voter’s name is read aloud and passed to
the challenger’s table
 Challenger – one from each party –
looks up registration info and compares
the signature to the signature on the
application form
◦ If the two do not match the challenger may
ask for additional information
◦ When the challenge is satisfied a person is
eligible they initial the form and return it to
the voter

5.  Voter than goes to the election booth
when they hand the application form to
an election judge
◦ Judges watch over the operation of the
voting booths, make sure everyone can vote
in secret, and help voters who are physically
challenged, elderly, or unable to read
 Ballots are cast by voting machines
◦ Two most common are the punch-card
machine and the lever machine
◦ Candidate’s names are usually listed
according to political party and office they
are seeking
 All voting machines allow voters to cast
a secret ballot
◦ Straight ticket, voting for all the
candidates in a political party
◦ Split Ticket: voting for multiple political
parties
◦ May also use a write-in vote

6.  Citizens who cannot get to the
polls can vote by absentee
ballot
◦ People who know they will be away, too
sick to get to the polls, and military
personnel often use absentee ballots
◦ Must be requested before Election Day
◦ Marked and returned by mail
◦ On Election Day, or shortly after,
election officials open and count the
absentee ballot

7.  Election workers count the votes at the polling place and take the ballots and results
– called returns – to the election board
◦ The board then collects and counts the returns for the city or county
◦ Then the board sends the returns to the state canvassing authority who
certifies the winner a few days after the election
 In major elections the news media and party workers try to predict winners ASAP
◦ Exit polls - asking voters leaving selected polls how they voted
 Major TV networks spend the entire night covering presidential elections
◦ They use computerized predictions based on the past voting history of key
precincts to call winners
◦ In some cases these are made with less than 10% counted
◦ Sometimes these are incorrect and networks are embarrassed like they were with
FL in 2000
 Political commenters have criticized these early calls
◦ Predictions usually come when the West Coast has yet to vote.
◦ Observers claim these early projections persuade people in the west to not bother
voting