Here in UK all polls are done by with paper ballots. When polls close there is a big push to get the boxes in the right place and votes counted quick. If a recount is needed its done then an there, it causes a hold up but nothing major.
Polls close at 10pm and by midnight-ish the results start coming in. In some places like highlands & islands it takes longer (transport and weather) but usually by 4am–ish everything is fully counted and announced. Its unusual to still be going at it after 5/6 am. And yes - we’ve had some very close races lately.
My confusion is, its not really that different to how its done in Mississippi. How is it possible to still be counting votes 3 days later??
I’ve been keeping an eye on the news but I’m finding it difficult to get a clear answer. What the hell is taking so long???
Wait… How does that work? Is a vote not anonymous when it’s provisional?
Not sure about Mississippi, but a common method in other states and for postal votes is 2 envelopes. The outer one includes the voter’s full info to be verified. The inner envelope contains their ballot. The outer envelope must be fully verified or rejected, then the inner envelope is sent to either the pile of votes to be counted, or the pile to be destroyed unopened.
Yes, a bad actor could skip process and identify how a person votes, but it would be obvious to everyone else in the room (and there are many people in the room watching for exactly this type of behavior).
Ohhh, provisional mail votes! That makes more sense. We have that system in the Netherlands too, with double envelopes
There can be provisional in person ballots too. You give the voter an envelope to put the ballot in until the provisional status is resolved that hides the votes of the voter.
They’re two different concepts, but there’s a lot of overlap in the details. Each one must be fully verified before it can be accepted. Provisional usually means their eligibility couldn’t be verified at the polling station on election day, for a variety of reasons, but this lets them cast a vote before the deadline while the rest gets sorted out later.
We have to prove we’re a legal citizen and reside in the district (precinct) where we cast our votes.
But if you’re not a legal citizen or don’t reside in that district, why would they even send you a voter pass?
People move, die, get married/legally change their names, or simply can’t afford the cost of or travel to obtain a RealID. OTOH, immigrants do need a RealID.
Computer glitches and human error occur. Bureaucracies aren’t designed for efficiency.
ETA, a percentage of immigrants don’t have visas but do need to work. Identity theft occurs, but it’s not as overblown as some media and politicians make it. In a country with the population as large as the USA, a small percentage can translate into bureaucratic tangles that are frustrating to unknot. I don’t blame the immigrants as much as policy, both in wrecking immigrants’ nation of origin, as well as nigh-impossible to navigate labyrinths of bureaucracy.
All things that are already registered in the government’s basic citizen administration (or whatever it’s called in your country). Deaths and moving to a new address are both things you are required to register with the government ASAP. Marriage and legal name changes are performed by the government (it’s kind of the entire point).
No, but a person’s whereabouts and legal status are necessary for taxes, and if there’s something governments are very good at it’s collecting taxes.
This actually sounds like a science fiction to me. You obviously don’t realize how antiquated and disconnected governmental bureaucracy is here in the U.S.
Very few systems can access data gathered by other systems. Job applications and other processes often require “background checks” to verify our identity by cross referencing several disparate databases and searching local and federal data for criminal histories, evidence of name change, etc. Meaning before someone will trust you with employment or a loan, they will pay a service to verify who you are because it’s such a difficult process to do.
The affidavit vote counting process is essentially doing that background check on each voter to verify their identity and eligibility to vote. And the Mississippi count at issue here is happening in one of the poorest, most understaffed, and most technology unadvanced states in the country.
I’m not sure you understand me. What could and should be are not always what actually is. Additionally, the USA has nearly 350 mn people, each state uses their own tech, own rules unless otherwise federally mandated, and DOGE went into federal systems and deleted and destroyed a lot. Moreover, individual counties and municipalities have their own systems. Rural areas don’t have the funding populous areas do, and people who can afford higher taxes simply don’t want to pay them and fight against them. Small towns here don’t even have websites, but FB pages.
not in the US