US Vote Blog

Have you ever wondered how the U.S. president is actually elected? Once we all cast our ballots during the General Election, aren't they just counted and isn't that how the winner is declared? If not, what happens next?

You may have heard about the Electoral College, but do you know what it actually does? And why we even have an Electoral College? In this blog, we'll explain the election process and discuss the Electoral College so you are well-informed about any presidential election, especially this year's election.

Voting Champion Kerri Rosenthal wants you to vote from the heart and vote at the start. Her positive and proactive mindset will motivate voters in 2024 with U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) tools and resources.

An acclaimed artist-designer-stylist, Kerri is based out of Connecticut, the most recent state to offer citizens the chance to participate in Early Voting.

Kerri will launch a campaign for Vote Love on June 20, 2024 with an American flag and the juxtaposed words "Vote" and "Love". Kerri shares, "Vote Love can mean something different to everybody. To me, Vote Love means voting for what matters in your heart."

One of the most frequent questions U.S. citizen voters have is whether they can vote in U.S. elections as a dual citizen. The answer is YES.

This goes for American dual citizens who live within the U.S. and for U.S. dual citizens living in another country. Voting in U.S. elections from abroad is also possible when you’re a dual national / dual citizen.

This article is intended to help U.S. dual nationals better understand their voting rights. If this applies to you, or anyone you know – the news is good!

Did you know that voter turnout is historically lower for those with a disability than those without? In 2022, 121.9 million citizens cast their vote, of which 15.8 million reported having a disability. Another 15.3 million were said to have a disability, but did not vote.

It’s important to also consider care givers and those affected by someone with a disability when discussing voting gaps. The percentage of in-person voters with a disability needing assistance rose from 6% to 11% in 2022. While 10.3 million individuals living with someone with a disability did not vote in the 2022 election.

The Institute of Politics (IOP) at the Harvard Kennedy School released its 47th Edition of the Survey of Young Americans’ Attitudes toward Politics and Public Service, a Harvard Youth Poll.

The Harvard Youth Poll uncovered many interesting facts about two cohorts of young Americans. The first cohort is 18 - 24 years old, so-called Generation Z; and the second cohort is 25-29 years old, so-called millennials. These young citizens are relevant to the political discourse in the U.S. We will review five key findings.

The Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a not-for-profit organization that promotes bipartisanship and provides policy insights and research with the aim of supporting state legislators in passage of laws, has published a recent study which asserts that turnover among election administrators has been growing across the United States. The reasons for such development are multi-fold, and action has to be taken to prepare the country for the smooth conduct of our democratic elections.

The analysis is based on the dataset of 18,644 local chief election officials across 6,290 jurisdictions in 50 U.S. states. According to the study, increased hostility towards election officials, the growing complexity of the role, and an aging workforce are contributing to the increase in turnover.

If you’ve had even half an ear open to the news about elections over the past years, it’s likely that you are not only tired of all the negative news, but you might also have gotten the opinion that voting in the US is a terrible, horrible, no-good, complicated, difficult, complex process. And a few other things, too! That would be no surprise. The media around elections seems relentless and overwhelmingly negative.

Help is on the way! This good news is courtesy of the researchers at the esteemed Center for Elections Innovation and Research (CEIR) and their recent report on the expansion of voting before Election Day.

Several methods of voting implemented over the last two decades make voting more convenient for all citizens no matter their residential situation. Most states now offer some mix of no-excuse absentee balloting, early voting, in-person absentee voting, emergency balloting, and same day registration and voting.

Imagine it’s Election Day and you want to vote in person. You love the connection to your community and the buzz of fulfilling your civic duty. Sometimes there is a bake sale outside of your polling place and most times you can proudly unpeel your “I Voted” sticker to wear as a badge of honor.

New Jersey voter Steven McCoy, often lauded as the World’s First Black Deaf-Blind Journalist, recalls the excitement he had about voting before he became visually impaired.

“This is something within my household that we always had; we always spoke about voting. So I couldn’t wait...

There are three types of the primary elections: “open primary,” “closed primary,” and “blanket/ nonpartisan primary.”

First, an “open primary” is a primary where you - as a voter - don’t have to be affiliated with the party for whose candidate you’re voting. In other words, if you registered with one party you can still vote for a candidate from another party in an “open primary.”

Second, in a “closed primary,” you can only vote for a candidate from the party with which you’re affiliated. In other words, if you’re registered as with a particular party, you can only vote for a candidate from that party.

Third, in a “blanket” or “nonpartisan primary”, also called the “jungle primary”, you can vote for candidates from different parties as you receive a single multiparty ballot and are not bound to party affiliation.