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Voting refers to the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representatives by voting.
Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of rival candidates, or both. It differs from but often goes hand-in-hand with voter suppression. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country, though the goal is often election subversion.
In the politics of the United States, elections are held for government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, the nation's head of state, the president, is elected indirectly by the people of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, these electors almost always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected by the people of each state. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as for special districts and school districts which may transcend county and municipal boundaries.
Voter suppression are tactics used to discourage or prevent specific groups of people from voting or registering to vote. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the opinions of potential voters through persuasion and organization, activating otherwise inactive voters, or registering new supporters. Voter suppression, instead, attempts to gain an advantage by reducing the turnout of certain voters. Suppression is an anti-democratic tactic associated with authoritarianism.
An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online voting. Increasing the ease of access to absentee ballots is seen by many as one way to improve voter turnout through convenience voting, though some countries require that a valid reason, such as infirmity or travel, be given before a voter can participate in an absentee ballot. Early voting overlaps with absentee voting. Early voting includes votes cast before the official election day(s), by mail, online or in-person at voting centers which are open for the purpose. Some places call early in-person voting a form of "absentee" voting, since voters are absent from the polling place on election day.
Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system.
India has a parliamentary system as defined by its constitution, with power distributed between the union government and the states. India's democracy is the largest democracy in the world.
Elections in Lithuania are held to select members of the parliament, the president, members of the municipal councils and mayors, as well as delegates to the European Parliament. Lithuanian citizens can also vote in mandatory or consultative referendums.
Presidential elections were held in Egypt on September 7, 2005, the first to feature more than one candidate. Incumbent president Hosni Mubarak was re-elected for a fifth consecutive six-year term in office, with official results showing he won 88.6% of the vote. Mubarak's main opponent, Ayman Nour, of the El-Ghad Party, is estimated to have received 7.3% of the vote and Numan Gumaa received 2.8%, however, Nour claimed that prior polling results showed over 30%. Criticism of the election process has centred on the process of selecting the eligible candidates, and on alleged election-law violations during voting. Mubarak was sworn in for his new term on September 27.
General elections in Singapore must be held within three months after five years have elapsed from the date of the first sitting of a particular Parliament of Singapore, as per the Constitution. However, Parliament can also be dissolved and a general election called at the behest of the Prime Minister before the five-year period elapses. The number of constituencies or electoral divisions is not permanently fixed by law, but is declared by the Prime Minister prior to each general election pursuant to the Parliamentary Elections Act, which governs the conduct of elections to Parliament, taking into account recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee.
The Mexican general election of July 2, 2006, was the most hotly contested election in Mexican history and as such, the results were controversial. According to the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), the initial "Quick Count" determined the race was too close to call, and when the "Official Count" was complete, Felipe Calderón of the right-of-center National Action Party (PAN) had won by a difference of 243,934 votes. The runner-up, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the left-of-center Coalition for the Good of All, immediately challenged the results and led massive marches, protests, and acts of civil resistance in Mexico City. On August 9, while protests continued to expand, a partial recount was undertaken by election officials after being ordered to do so by the country's Federal Electoral Tribunal. The tribunal ordered the recount of the polling stations that were ruled to have evidence of irregularities, which were about nine percent of the total.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local governments, and the office of president of Pakistan, as well as the delimitation of constituencies and preparation of electoral rolls. As per the principles outlined in the Constitution of Pakistan, the Commission makes such arrangements as needed to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and guard against corrupt practices. The Election Commission was formed on 23 March 1956.
In law and politics, treating is the act of serving food, drink, and other refreshments to influence people for political gain, often shortly before an election. In various countries, treating is considered a form of corruption, and is illegal as such. However, as long as the supplying of refreshments is not part of a quid pro quo for votes, etc., it is often not illegal.
Vote early and vote often is a generally tongue-in-cheek phrase used in relation to elections and the voting process. Though rarely considered a serious suggestion, the phrase theoretically encourages corrupt electoral activity, but is used mostly to suggest the occurrence of such corruption.
A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else or sign a Challenged Voter Affidavit in order to receive a ballot to vote.
In the United States, electoral fraud, or voter fraud, involves illegal voting in or manipulation of United States elections. Types of fraud include voter impersonation or in-person voter fraud, mail-in or absentee ballot fraud, illegal voting by noncitizens, and double voting. The United States government defines voter or ballot fraud as one of three broad categories of federal election crimes, the other two being campaign finance crimes and civil rights violations.
Absentee voting in the United Kingdom is allowed by proxy or post for any elector.
Presidential elections were held in Moldova on 20 October 2024, with a runoff held on 3 November. Incumbent president Maia Sandu, who won the first round, and former Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was the runner-up, contested the runoff, with Sandu winning a majority of votes and being re-elected for a second and final term.
The Elections Act 2022 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was introduced to the House of Commons in July 2021 and received royal assent on 28 April 2022. The act makes photo identification compulsory for in-person voting in Great Britain for the first time. Before the act was passed, Northern Ireland had been the only part of the UK to require voter identification. The act also gives the government new powers over the independent elections regulator; the Electoral Commission has said it is "concerned" about its independence from political influence in the future.
Election subversion can involve a range of measures to change the outcome of a vote, including voter suppression, election denial, disinformation, intimidation and other legal or illegal attempts to not count or disqualify certain votes.
References
- ↑ Wang, Yiling (June 2022). "Jens David Ohlin, Election Interference: International Law and the Future of Democracy". Chinese Journal of International Law. 21 (2): 401–404. doi:10.1093/chinesejil/jmac005 – via EBSCOhost.
- ↑ Magazine, Smithsonian; Keller, Kate. "Why Are There Laws That Restrict What People Can Wear to the Polls?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ Savage, David (May 27, 1992). "Ban on Polling Place Solicitations Upheld : Law: The high court sees infringement upon First Amendment but rules that states have compelling interest to prevent intimidation and fraud". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ Allsop, Jon (August 27, 2024). "The Election-Interference Merry-Go-Round". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X . Retrieved September 3, 2024.
In October, 2020, Bob Ferguson, the attorney general of Washington State, launched an initiative to combat 'election interference'... This year, Ferguson ran for governor of Washington, as a Democrat. So, too, did Bob Ferguson, and Bob Ferguson. The latter Fergusons—a retired state employee and a military veteran, respectively—were recruited as candidates by Glen Morgan, a conservative activist. ('If I had started a little bit earlier, I would have been able to have six Bob Fergusons,' Morgan told the Seattle Times.) Allies of the original Ferguson accused Morgan of deliberately trying to confuse voters; in a tweet, Ferguson called the gambit 'election interference' and pointed out that the other Fergusons could be prosecuted under state law if they didn't withdraw.
- ↑ Meltzer, Marc (April 22, 1978). "Richland vote material will not be distributed". Newspapers.com. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 20. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ Behland, Beth (November 10, 1991). "Logo likeness spurs debate over conflict". Newspapers.com. Southtown Star (Illinois). p. 1. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ "Election Interference Claimed". Newspapers.com. Sun Post News (UPI). September 30, 1976. p. 2. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ Dorn, Sara. "Trump Files Motion To Dismiss Federal Election Interference Charges". Forbes. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
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