Vote

A formal declaration or expression of the will or preference of a person in regard to a question or issue submitted to him together with others for action. The term is perhaps most commonly applied to the means whereby an elector or citizen expresses his choice of candidates for public offices and to the expressions of assent or dissent of legislators to the enactment of proposed measures, but is also correctly employed to describe the voice of a member of a corporation or any association of individuals in declaring his will as to any question submitted.

The word is also used collectively to include the combined action of a number of individuals upon a given question. Various methods of voting have been devised, but practically only two are in use: by ballot (q.v.), and viva voce, by voice. Where the voting is by ballot, one or more judges must be appointed to canvass or count the ballots which have been deposited in some receptacle by the voters. Where the more simple method of having each voter announce his will orally is adopted, a secretary is usually appointed to note the name and choice of every one entitled to vote.

In all political elections and legislative bodies in the United States every person entitled to vote must do so personally. However, in corporations and associations voting by proxy is usually permitted.

In order to secure a fair election and freedom of choice on the part of the voters, various means of voting have been devised. The Australian system, which practically insures absolute secrecy, is the most in favor. This system prohibits any marking of ballots for identification, and as all the tickets which may be voted are printed upon one sheet of paper and marked and folded in a closed booth, there is perhaps no method of determining absolutely how a person votes.

Voter

One entitled to a vote or voice in the determination of a question before a number of individuals. The term implies some qualification. For example, to entitle a person to vote for candidates for public office he must be a citizen of the jurisdiction in which the election is held, and of course, no one can vote on any question before a private corporation or association unless he is a member.

The character of the qualifications required of voters in political elections varies somewhat in the different States. However, there are certain general requirements in all States, which may be summarized as follows: (1) Citizenship; (2) Residence for a certain time in the State, county, and election district; (3) that the voter shall have attained his majority (21 years); (4) that the voter shall be of sound mind; (5) that he shall not be a convicted felon under sentence. Registration is also required in many States. Some of the States have established either property or educational qualifications.

This has been done in most of the Southern States in order to exclude the negro vote. As these tests might bar some of the "poor whites," a provision that any one, whose father or grandfather was a soldier in the Confederate Army has been introduced. These ingenious devices are rendered necessary by the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that the "right of citizens to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Except for this provision the States have power to fix their own qualifications. A few States permit women to vote.

The election laws of most States contain provisions under which a person who suspects that another is illegally attempting to vote may challenge the latter's right to do so. Under such circumstances the person challenged is generally permitted to "swear in" his vote, that is, state under oath that he possesses the qualification which the challenger denies, and his vote is counted subject to rejection later if the courts subsequently decide that he had no right to vote.