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 The Cambridge Election Commission presented a talk on Recent Trends in Elections on Thursday, July 22nd. The talk was given by Rachael V. Cobb, Assistant Professor of Government at Suffolk University.
Information gathered from the presentation:
37% of Americans cast ballots before election day. These include the elderly, disabled voters and students. Early voters have privileges over any other voters like working voters or unemployed adults.
Different states in the U.S. have a specific time limit for registration. For example, in Alaska, Alabama, and Arkansas you have to register 30 days before the election while in California you have to register 15 days before the election. In North Dakota, you don't need to register, while in some other states you register on the same day as the the election.
Why should people vote? 
Historically, people have voted to draw boundaries of power between gender or race- especially race- because back in those days voting was only helpful for the white community and not for anyone else. Now voting is crucial because it defines our laws, and the people who will run our country seem more important than they did back in the day, with professional staff to run the urban and suburban areas and part-time staffs for the rural areas.
Who can vote in the U.S.?
 A voter must be a legal U.S. citizen. Those convicted of a felony (except in Idaho) are barred from voting, and minors are also not permitted to vote by law until they are 18.
One of the most important parts of voting is the actual registration. Even if you are eligible to vote, without registering in your community you cannot vote. Registering is simple: all you need to do is go online or fill out a form in person at the designated community center or city hall. It's become increasingly common and easy to register online but certain states like New York, Tennessee, New Jersey and several other states have poor websites for voting. According to Professor V. Cobb, "Some sites are not very helpful. For example, Mississippi's website is a very disorganized place to register while Iowa is the best for two reasons:it's easy to maneuver through the website and find what you need and you can also understand its content."
The most serious problem with voting is that too many ballots are filled with residual votes which are the % of ballots for which no valid vote was cast. This includes both over-votes and under-vote ballots in which no choice is read. Even if all Americans vote, there is still a high risk that their votes might become residual votes.
As long as you vote correctly, your vote will be successfully counted.
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