Original Question:
What is the best way to manually count ballot papers in block vote (BV) systems?
With first-past-the-post systems, one can easily pile the ballots for each candidate, and then tally the totals. Where there is more than one vote recorded on ballot papers, some kind of tallying system seems unavoidable. What techniques are used in counting block vote ballots elsewhere?
Introduction
“Vote counting is one of the most crucial stages in the election process. Failure to complete the count and transmit results in a quick, transparent and accurate manner can jeopardize public confidence in the elections and will directly affect whether candidates and political parties accept the final results.” (The ACE Encyclopedia)
Block
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The set of resources available should also be taken in consideration, as they will greatly influence the count, balancing integrity, accuracy, and speed.
Most of the experts involved in this question believe that manually counting the ballots per a “call and tally” approach can be a time-consuming process, but on the other hand that it also helps guaranteeing transparency, integrity and trust in the system. Basic training of the electoral officials, for example, could be important because the effectiveness of any vote count process depends on the counting staff. Voter education is also important, as every individual should be aware of how the votes will be translated into seats, and how the count will proceed. And finally, the transmission of results should be structured and transparent in order to guarantee the acceptance of the general outcome of the election.
Block Vote Case study: 1989 elections in Jordan
The November 1989 general elections in Jordan were the first competitive ones for nearly thirty years. The country adopted the Block Vote electoral system, where voters had as many votes as there were seats to be filled within the district, but results turned out to be very controversial. Although it is difficult to make political analysis (political parties were banned), the University of Jordan has estimated that
We find that 100.0% of votes are accounted for, only 40.7% actually counted, therefore, votes a drastically wasted. Other arguments to demonstrate how the
As technology has evolved there have become more ways to cast a vote than ever before. Most people are familiar with the traditional way of
The special election process is not fair and therefore not adequate, because it is more difficult for working-class citizens and minority voters to participate in the election. Currently, elections take place on weekdays during working times. This decreases voter turnout, as many people are unable to leave work to go vote. Furthermore, this disproportionately affects working-class citizens and people who earn hourly wages. Voter ID laws, while practical, further decrease voter turnout because people who do not own adequate identification or who are not aware of the need for identification are unable to vote. Next, the lack of widespread voting centers makes it more difficult for voters to reach a voting center, especially working-class citizens and urban dwellers, many of whom do not own cars or other forms of transportation. Lastly, the language barrier also makes it increasingly difficult for minorities to participate in the voting process, decreasing voter
there are many people think their vote does not count. Voters believe that the Electoral College chooses the president, not the sort of actual votes. What realy happens though is that the voices of the people in each state define the candidate to the electoral college and then supports that State. This means that every vote counted, and everyone should vote, is determined to electoral candidate by voters, not by some arbitrary operations that have nothing to do with the voters. It is calculated by your vote, unless they are stolen or changed by the electronic voting machines. Way to avoid this risk is to vote with a ballot paper, and are usually available cursed by electronic
During this election in states such as North Carolina, you can see voter suppression in ways such as less polling places and less polling hours, making it more difficult for people to vote, particularly those who have to work. This barrs lower income people from voting the most, because they are more likely to have less time to go vote to begin with. States will make it more difficult than necessary to obtain an absentee ballot. In North Carolina, they are recounting the votes for governor, and have stated that they must count thousands of provisional ballots not counted before in addition to the previous votes to determine the outcome. How can you call a presidential election if thousands of ballots have not yet been counted? If there are uncounted votes here, how many are there in other
Elections, if only due to their colossal size, are difficult to measure. The 2000 presidential election Florida recount exemplifies the issues associated with vote counting and the often unsuccessful implementation of technology to remedy a centuries old process. Technology in the election process is often accompanied by great skepticism, and blunders are not uncommon—see Mitt Romney’s
Ultimately many more instances were leading factors to the questionable, unsolved legitimacy of the election, which will never get closure, only closure that the ballots will obtain are that of the closed boxes in which they lay wrapped away in a
ballots. This was done by the state allowing for the use of improper machines to re-count
The U.S Constitution gives the states considerable latitude in the way of conducting elections. The American citizens have many opportunities to vote. However, a turnout in American elections has dramatically decreased over the past several decades. In order to address this issue, majority of states have allowed absentee voting reforms. These convenient reforms are thought to increase the voter turnout in the elections, as well as to reduce administrative costs.
J.J Strossmayer who holds a P.H.D in law research found that empty and invalid ballot papers (defined as blank or spoiled votes) are one of the biggest problems of the countries that have a compulsory voting. During Brazil’s 1990 elections voter turnout was 76.57%, but 40% of the votes were deemed invalid. (Mackerras & Mcallister 1999) (Evidence: Statistics) In Ecuador’s 2006 elections 40% votes were
Every person’s vote should count in America. Some people say that Elector College is the best way to count votes. The Electoral College is a system for elections which decides who will be the president. The United State is the only country with this kind of indirect voting system which written in the Constitution. In America, the candidate wins when he wins the Elector College not the popular vote. The Elector College should change because popular vote does not count, the system is complicated, and many people have stopped voting.
It counts every vote including people that possibly may not be citzens but still want to particpate in the election process. Also, Modern technology allows voters to get necessary information to make informed decisions in a way that that the founding fathers never could. Back when the electoral college was started, it was started because they didn’t want the majority of the population making an uninformed decision and choosing a terrible president. Also, Donald Trump said before the 2016 election that he would love to see a simpler system of each individual vote counted. After the 2016 election is which he won he stated that he no longer
When election day begins, Americans cast their ballots for the president of the states. Except there’s a catch, they don’t vote direct for the president. The system has over the years become quite controversial because the electoral college has many flaws. The electoral college is a collection of 538 votes that determine who the president.
The number of seats a province is given in Parliament is established based on the population of the province. Voters are then divided into constituencies, also known as electoral boundaries, ridings, or districts. In order to win, candidates must get a highest amount of votes than any other competitor within the same electoral boundary. This means that if candidate A receives 41% of the votes, while candidate B gets 39% and candidate C 20%, candidate A becomes the winner of the election and gains a seat in Parliament. Note that 59% of the electorate opposed candidate A.
No ballots can be misplaced and there is no need for poll workers to help a voter out by looking over the voters shoulder, then making changes where necessary (Voting Technology Project). People are looking to protect their privacy and make sure that there vote is one of the votes that really count. The problem is that it is not safe to have a paper or receipt type thing printed out for a voter, this type of thing could lead to a wide spread buying of votes by the separate sides. Buying votes is obviously something neither side wants to see happen.