Just a little history lesson on our voting techniques that we currently use today. The Australian ballot also called secret
ballot, is the system of voting in which voters mark their choices in privacy
on uniform ballots printed and distributed by government or designate their
choices by other secret means. Victoria
and South Australia were the first states that introduced secrecy of the ballot
in 1856, and for that reason the secret ballot is referred to as the Australian
ballot.
The
system had then spread to Europe and the United States to meet the growing
public and parliamentary demand for protection of voters. In the United States the Australian ballot
system was widely adopted after the presidential election of 1884. This was the election that came very close in
votes and the deciding state was New York.
The winner was democrat Grover Cleveland. He was the first democrat to win an election
since 1856, before the American Civil War.
Voting
by the Australian ballot usually takes place in a prescribed manner. The voting boxes are required to be a certain
dimension and closed. The containers are
examined before the poll begins and obviously cannot be opened until the count
begins. The voter then marks a ballot,
in a special booth, and (after the voter’s right to vote has been verified) the
vote is placed inside the container. If
you have voted before than this is not something new to you. I found it very interesting how the secrecy
of voting became, and we the U.S. did not come up with this idea. Like most things in the United States we
adopt it from another country.
I find it amazing that something as old as the secret ballot is still in use today. The difference now is that, in some areas, computers are used instead of paper, pens, and containers. I never knew that the system originated in Australia. Overall your extension was superb.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great extension! I can't believe that this system is this old! This is a great and very helpful example.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steven. It's amazing how something so old can be used today without making any changes to it (with the exception of technology).
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Steven on how we still have been using this system since it came to the U.S. I never knew exactly what it was called though until reading about this. I think it is amazing how we still keep it secret because of this voting style. I also think it is cool how we adopted this from another country and it was not our idea.
ReplyDeleteGood ol Australia who knew they contributed more then vegemite to the world. Very cool to see that we still our using a system that works and didn't try to fix something that wasn't broke...yet
ReplyDeleteI always seem to forget that other places have better ways of doing things besides America. For this technique to be so old and still used today, says a lot about the strength of a public.
ReplyDeleteThe secret ballot system seems extremely intutive. Itt helps avoid a lot of political backlash and protects voters. HOWEVER, it is a terrible system if its not backed up digitally. Historically the secret ballot when used on paper has lead to some of the biggest mistakes in U.S. history. Harry Truman won his senate seat in missouri because his ballots were stuffed by a mobb member named Pendergast who used his push to stuff ballots. Now while Truman became a awesome President, his path to the office was unfair.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, if florida' had a digital secret ballot system the disaster in 2000 would have been averted. Contesting the decision in florida was nonsensical because there is no way to verify paper secret ballots that were just not added to the pool.