Did You Know? Voting Facts

Did You Know?

• Hawaii has a "no excuses" absentee voting law. Any registered voter may request an absentee ballot by mail or vote early (absentee walk in) for any reason.
• All of Oregon, and most of Washington state conduct “vote by mail” elections: You don’t have to go to the polls because there are none.
• The 375,000 voters who turned out for the last primary represented fewer than 10% of the 4.4 million registered voters in New York City.
• People who cannot provide a valid reason as to why they failed to vote in Australia are fined the equivalent of $20. The fine goes to $50 if they take the matter to court and lose.
• What most increases turnout is a candidate or issue that galvanizes public interest, says University of Rochester political science professor Richard Niemi. Presidential elections, for example, draw 15 – 20% more voters than “off year” elections.
• New York was the last state to ditch its archaic old lever machines (patented by Thomas Edison) in favor of optical scanning devices to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act.