What is a null ballot?
Null ballots are ballots that do not result in a valid vote because the ballot was filled out incompletely or incorrectly. Spoiled ballots are ballots that have been defaced, crossed-out, or otherwise marked in a way that makes the ballot ineligible; spoiled ballots most clearly indicate the presence of a protest vote.
What is a silent ballot?
The most basic form of a secret ballot utilizes blank pieces of paper upon which each voter writes their choice. Without revealing the votes to anyone, the voter folds the ballot paper in half and places it in a sealed box.
What is the legal voting age put forward by the 26th Amendment?
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Are residents of Washington DC banned from voting for the President?
As a compromise, the Twenty-third Amendment was adopted in 1961, granting the District some votes in the Electoral College in measure to their population, but no more than the smallest state. The Districts’ residents have exercised this right since the presidential election of 1964.
What is a primary election with an open seat?
Primary elections with an open seat are primary elections without an incumbent. These primaries happen when an incumbent chooses to resign, leaving a seat open, or in cases where one party will be challenging an incumbent of the other party in the general election.
Why are primary elections so unpredictable?
Incumbents often build up large campaign bank accounts and endorsements to scare away primary challengers. But they know that turnout in primaries is much lower than in other elections, and so results are more unpredictable than general elections.
Which US elections should you get involved in?
If you’re most passionate about protecting access to our national parks and other federally protected public lands, you’ll want to get involved in elections for the US House of Representatives and US Senate. If you care about criminal justice reform, you should focus your attention on elections for district attorney or State Attorney General.
