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Celebrate Your Right to Vote
Seniors tend to be the most likely voters in U.S. elections. According to the Census Bureau, in recent Presidential elections, more than three-quarters of the older population was registered to vote and two-thirds actually voted on Election Day. With characters forged by the Great Depression, World War II and the Kennedy era (“ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,”), older Americans recognize that voting in the United States is central to our democratic way of life.
Through the years, however, the voting process has changed. A good example of this is the Motor Voter Law, passed by Congress in 1993. It allows people to register to vote whenever they get a driver’s license. Mail-in ballots are another innovation — in Oregon elections, everyone votes that way. Many other states changed their procedures after voting irregularities and system defects came to light in the 2000 elections.
Because of some of the problems associated with that election, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002. Its purpose is to make sure that every eligible voter gets to vote on Election Day, and that votes are counted accurately. We’ll all have to wait and see if the law has the desired effect and procedures improve in future elections.
Most elections are run by states, cities, counties or townships, so laws on voting vary a lot, depending on where you live. For more information on how to register and vote in your state, consult the official website of the National Association of Secretaries of State: www.nass.org.
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