What is Voting Method in US Presidential Election?

WEB DESK: The entire world is eyeing the novel the United States (US) Presidential Election all set to take place on November 3 (Today). 

The voters in the US will start casting their votes to elect the 59th president of the country. The voting will start at 4 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST).

According to CNN exit polls, Democratic party is leading in the elections. Presidential candidate Joe Biden has a 50 percent chance of winning, while Donald Trump has a 40 percent chance of winning.

The exit polls conducted by Daily Washington Post also showed Biden ahead.Furthermore, the voting methods have been revised across the US due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

To deal with this situation, the government introduced the early voting system to prevent crowding at the polling locations.

According to Daily US Today, as many as 90 million Americans have already voted using the early voting method. The people sent their votes through the mail.

The high number of early voters, about 65% of the total turnout in 2016, reflects an intense interest in the contest as US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned across the country to try to convince the remaining undecided voters.

Concerns about exposure to the coronavirus at the busy Election Day voting places on Tuesday have also pushed up the numbers of people voting by mail or at early in-person polling sites.

Moreover, different states in the US have devised a different set of rules for early voting. The state of Pennsylvania canceled many mailed ballots sent that failed to hide the identity of the voter.

In the rural areas of the country, many voters are facing difficulties as they have to travel far to exercise their voting right in the polling station.

Some states including Wisconsin, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, and Missouri have made it mandatory for the voters to have all identity documents while some have given relaxation in a manner that the people can also vote, in absence of requisite identity documents, after submitting an affidavit.

Further, all arrangements for polling are carried out by the local counties each of which has its own rules.

Some use the amended voters’ lists in elections while others prepare them all over in every election, impelling the voter to get listed in the fresh lists.

Most of the states don’t allow convicted people to exercise their voting right. However, if a criminal has served sentence, the right to vote automatically restores but payment of all outstanding dues is necessary for it.Voting Methods in the US

Three voting methods can be used by the voters to cast their votes. They include

Optical Scan Ballot System

In an optical scan voting system, each voter’s choices are marked on one or more pieces of paper, which then go through a scanner. The scanner creates an electronic image of each ballot, interprets it, creates a tally for each candidate, and usually stores the image for later review.

Direct-Recording Electronic Counting

A voter can see candidates to choose from on a touch screen. The voter can change his mind as many times until casting the vote.

Voting data and ballot images are recorded in the machine’s memory and then copied out at the end of the election.

Ballot Marking Device (BMD)

The voters can use a ballot marking device (BMD) or vote recorder to record votes on physical ballots.

In general, ballot marking devices does not store or tabulate ballots. Instead, they only allow the voter to record votes on ballots that are then stored and tabulated elsewhere.

Despite the novel coronavirus lockdown and unprecedented situation, the experts believe that one of the highest turnouts in the history of the country could be expected in this current US Presidential Election.