Today is the day we vote. I have my cheat sheet of candidates at the ready. I’ve sharpened my pencil; and yes, I know that those ridiculous mini-pencils may be available at the voting booths, but I prefer to bring my own #2 pencil because I’m weird like that. I will bubble in the scantron’s circles, feed it into a secure (I hope!) electronic vote counting machine, and grab my “I Voted!” sticker on my way out the door.
And as I walk out the door with my kids by my side, I will feel proud and thankful for the right and freedom to vote. Likely, they will roll their eyes as I expound on how wonderful it will be when they are old enough to vote. But I hope that after they vote in their first election, they’ll begin to grasp the gift and responsibility of exercising their vote. Who knows, maybe they’ll even run for an office–local or otherwise, one day.
Here are 20 interesting things you may, or may not know, about voting in the United States
1. Why do we vote on Tuesday? “In 1845, before Florida, California, and Texas were states, or slavery had been abolished, Congress needed to pick a time for Americans to vote. We were an agrarian society. We traveled by horse and buggy. Farmers needed a day to get to the county seat, a day to vote, and a day to get back, without interfering with the three days of worship. So that left Tuesday and Wednesday, but Wednesday was market day. So, Tuesday it was. In 1875 Congress extended the Tuesday date for national House elections and in 1914 for federal Senate elections.” [Source]
2. Why do we vote in November? “…the month of November fit nicely between harvest time and brutal winter weather–which can be especially bad when you’re trudging along by horse and buggy.”
3. In 1888, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to adopt a secret ballot system (originally used in the Australian state of Victoria) on a statewide basis.
4. “Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment guaranteed all American women the right tp vote.” [Source]
5. The Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, “is considered among the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.” Its purpose was to secure the rights of African Americans who still faced “various discriminatory practices” that prevented them from voting under the 15th Amendment.
6. In 1943, Georgia became the first state to lower its voting age in state and local elections from 21 to 18.
7. On July 1, 1971, the 26th amendment extended the right to vote to citizens 18 years of age and older.
8. Almost every state has a state voter registration deadline, but they are not all the same. In Texas, voters must be registered 30 days before the election.
9. In the United States, about 60% of the eligible voting population casts their votes during presidential election years, and only 40% during the midterm elections.
10. The type of election affects turnout. A 2013 study of 340 mayoral elections in 144 U.S. cities from 1996-2012 found that voter turnout averaged at 25.8% with mayors in some cities elected with single-digit turnout.
11. By 2015, the Millennial generation will account for one-third of the electorate.
12. Pew Research Center surveys indicate that 50% of Millennials describe themselves as political independents and 29% claim to not be affiliated with any religion.
13. “In 2012, 4% more young women voted than young men.” [Source]
14. Only 60%-70% of American registered voters are projected to exercise their right to vote in the November 4, 2014 U.S. Midterm Election.
15. Only the states of Maine and Vermont allow felons to vote from prison.
16. “Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor in Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, South Carolina or South Dakota may not vote while incarcerated.” [Source]
17. Based on the current allocation of electoral votes, a candidate could win the presidency with electoral majorities in only 11 states. Conversely, a candidate could win every vote in 39 states and DC and still lose the presidency. [Source]
18. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the midterm elections of 2014 are projected to be the most expensive in history–costing almost $4 billion.
19. Some 40% of voters ages 30-49 have used their cell phone to follow this year’s election campaign on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and 21% follow political figures on social media according to a new national survey by the Pew Research Center. [Source]
20. As states have failed to maintain their electronic voting machines (due to budget shortfalls), Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting projects that nearly 70% of voters will cast ballots by hand on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.
Do your kids go with you to vote? If your kids are old enough, do you discuss politics in your home? Do they know who you are voting for and why?
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who inspires homeschooling families to live, love and learn. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods where she currently home schools two of her three kids.