A vote is an expression of opinion by ballot, show of hands, a survey or other ways.
During elections in ancient Greece votes were cast by scratching the names of candidates inside mussel shells.
The phrase "Don't spill the beans" probably dates back to the ancient Greek And Roman method of placing black or white beans in a jar to cast votes, both in their elections and in courts. Black beans stood for opposition or guilt, and white signified agreement or innocence.
The word candidate comes from the Latin ‘candidatus’ meaning ‘one clad in white.’
Until 139 BC Roman citizens voted orally, giving their answer to a teller. Thereafter they marked a tablet and place it in an urn, constituting a secret ballot. When each tribe's returns had been counted, the result was taken to the magistrate as a single vote.
America’s first presidential election was held in 1789. Only white men who owned property were allowed to vote.
Printed ballots were authorised for use in elections in the state of Pennsylvania in 1799. Originally these ballots were called 'vest-pocket tickets'. This was because the ballot ticket slid into a heavy-paper pocket which fit nicely in a vest pocket.
The reason why voting takes place on a Tuesday in the United States is that in 1845 it could take rural farmers up to a day of travelling by horse and cart to get to a voting station. Wednesday was typically market day.
Three years after African American men were granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C. non-white men and freed male slaves were guaranteed the right to vote by the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870. However, Southern states suppressed the voting rights of black and poor white voters through Jim Crow Laws between 1890–1910 . During this period, the Supreme Court generally upheld state efforts to discriminate against racial minorities. It was only later in the 20th century that these laws were ruled unconstitutional.
Until declared illegal in 1965, literacy tests or a poll tax were often used to prevent black people from voting in the South.
Women were granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory in 1869. The following year Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming became the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807. (All unmarried women who owned property had the right to vote from 1776-1807 in New Jersey).
The Ballot Act of 1872 introduced the secret ballot in the United Kingdom, a measure which provoked a great deal of parliamentary opposition.
Three and a half years after suffragist Susan B. Anthony co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, she voted illegally in the 1872 Presidential Election. Anthony received a $100 fine, but never paid it for the rest of her life, and an embarrassed U.S. Government took no collection action against her.
HISTORY
During elections in ancient Greece votes were cast by scratching the names of candidates inside mussel shells.
The phrase "Don't spill the beans" probably dates back to the ancient Greek And Roman method of placing black or white beans in a jar to cast votes, both in their elections and in courts. Black beans stood for opposition or guilt, and white signified agreement or innocence.
The word candidate comes from the Latin ‘candidatus’ meaning ‘one clad in white.’
Until 139 BC Roman citizens voted orally, giving their answer to a teller. Thereafter they marked a tablet and place it in an urn, constituting a secret ballot. When each tribe's returns had been counted, the result was taken to the magistrate as a single vote.
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| These disks were used to cast a juror's vote on a case in ancient Greece |
America’s first presidential election was held in 1789. Only white men who owned property were allowed to vote.
Printed ballots were authorised for use in elections in the state of Pennsylvania in 1799. Originally these ballots were called 'vest-pocket tickets'. This was because the ballot ticket slid into a heavy-paper pocket which fit nicely in a vest pocket.
The reason why voting takes place on a Tuesday in the United States is that in 1845 it could take rural farmers up to a day of travelling by horse and cart to get to a voting station. Wednesday was typically market day.
Three years after African American men were granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C. non-white men and freed male slaves were guaranteed the right to vote by the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870. However, Southern states suppressed the voting rights of black and poor white voters through Jim Crow Laws between 1890–1910 . During this period, the Supreme Court generally upheld state efforts to discriminate against racial minorities. It was only later in the 20th century that these laws were ruled unconstitutional.
Until declared illegal in 1965, literacy tests or a poll tax were often used to prevent black people from voting in the South.
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| Register to vote African American 1960s |
Women were granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory in 1869. The following year Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming became the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807. (All unmarried women who owned property had the right to vote from 1776-1807 in New Jersey).
The Ballot Act of 1872 introduced the secret ballot in the United Kingdom, a measure which provoked a great deal of parliamentary opposition.
Three and a half years after suffragist Susan B. Anthony co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, she voted illegally in the 1872 Presidential Election. Anthony received a $100 fine, but never paid it for the rest of her life, and an embarrassed U.S. Government took no collection action against her.
The 1876 US Presidential election had the highest turnout of eligible voters in American history at 81.8%. The winner, Rutherford Hayes, also lost the popular vote.
In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 was consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote. New Zealand thus became the first country to give women the vote in a national election.
Thomas Edison's first ever invention was a voting machine for recording votes in Congress in 1868 years before it was accepted by American politicians. Each congressman was given a yes or no button. Voting machines were finally approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections in 1899.
On February 6, 1918, the Representation of the People Act was given royal assent, giving votes to women in the UK. Actually it gave votes only to women over 30, who were householders, the wives of householders, occupiers of property with an annual rent of £5 and graduates of British universities. It took another 10 years before women over 21 could vote, giving them parity with men.
There were fifteen nations that gave women the right to vote before the United States did in 1920.
The minimum voting age in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969. The Bridgwater by-election of March 12, 1970 was the first election in the United Kingdom to be held after the voting age had been reduced. The first under-21 year old to cast a vote was Susan Wallace.
The last country in Europe to give votes to women was Liechtenstein in 1984.
In 1999 South African officials built a special polling station in the remote Drakensberg mountain area where there was only one registered voter. Sure enough, he stayed home and didn't vote.
During the 2007 Estonian parliamentary elections, approximately 30,000 voters took advantage of electronic voting, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the vote casting was allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet.
People cast their votes in elections in The Gambia by dropping stones in holes.
Voting in European Union elections is compulsory in Belgium, Cyprus, Greece and Luxembourg.
Belgian citizens are automatically registered in the electoral polls and more than 90% of the eligible population takes part in the voting process, since you risk a fine if you do not vote either in person or by proxy.
Indian voters have the right to reject all election candidates. The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to provide a button on the voting machine which would give voters the option to choose "none of the above".
Despite having no voting power, Puerto Rico has a higher population than 20 of the 50 states and Washington DC has more people than Vermont or Wyoming. The remaining US territories including Guam, American Samoa etc. add up to nearly 400,000 unrepresented voters.
Texas is the only US state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.
When astronauts vote from space, they list their address as "low-Earth orbit" in their absentee ballots.
African wild dog populations in the Okavango Delta in Botswana have been observed voting on whether not to go on a hunt by sneezing. If a dominant pair sneezes first, then on average two additional sneezes will mean a hunt occurs. If a non dominant dogs sneeze first, then it typically takes ten additional sneezes to sway the group to hunt.
In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 was consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote. New Zealand thus became the first country to give women the vote in a national election.
Thomas Edison's first ever invention was a voting machine for recording votes in Congress in 1868 years before it was accepted by American politicians. Each congressman was given a yes or no button. Voting machines were finally approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections in 1899.
On February 6, 1918, the Representation of the People Act was given royal assent, giving votes to women in the UK. Actually it gave votes only to women over 30, who were householders, the wives of householders, occupiers of property with an annual rent of £5 and graduates of British universities. It took another 10 years before women over 21 could vote, giving them parity with men.
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| British suffragette |
There were fifteen nations that gave women the right to vote before the United States did in 1920.
The minimum voting age in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1969. The Bridgwater by-election of March 12, 1970 was the first election in the United Kingdom to be held after the voting age had been reduced. The first under-21 year old to cast a vote was Susan Wallace.
The last country in Europe to give votes to women was Liechtenstein in 1984.
In 1999 South African officials built a special polling station in the remote Drakensberg mountain area where there was only one registered voter. Sure enough, he stayed home and didn't vote.
During the 2007 Estonian parliamentary elections, approximately 30,000 voters took advantage of electronic voting, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the vote casting was allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet.
FUN VOTING FACTS
People cast their votes in elections in The Gambia by dropping stones in holes.
Voting in European Union elections is compulsory in Belgium, Cyprus, Greece and Luxembourg.
Belgian citizens are automatically registered in the electoral polls and more than 90% of the eligible population takes part in the voting process, since you risk a fine if you do not vote either in person or by proxy.
Indian voters have the right to reject all election candidates. The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to provide a button on the voting machine which would give voters the option to choose "none of the above".
Despite having no voting power, Puerto Rico has a higher population than 20 of the 50 states and Washington DC has more people than Vermont or Wyoming. The remaining US territories including Guam, American Samoa etc. add up to nearly 400,000 unrepresented voters.
Texas is the only US state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.
When astronauts vote from space, they list their address as "low-Earth orbit" in their absentee ballots.
African wild dog populations in the Okavango Delta in Botswana have been observed voting on whether not to go on a hunt by sneezing. If a dominant pair sneezes first, then on average two additional sneezes will mean a hunt occurs. If a non dominant dogs sneeze first, then it typically takes ten additional sneezes to sway the group to hunt.
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