Introduction to Voter Registration and Balloting Methods

Vocabulary flashcards detailing state voter registration requirements, federal voting acts, historical ballot designs, and voting equipment based on the transcript.

Residency Requirement

A voter qualification requiring individuals to declare a specific state as their home to register and vote there, which impacts out-of-state students and individuals living in multiple states.

National Voter Registration Act of 1993

A federal law, commonly known as Motor Voter, that allowed citizens to register to vote when applying for or renewing their driver's licenses or updating Social Security information.

Automatic Voter Registration

A state policy first passed by Oregon in 2016 where the state automatically registers eligible citizens to vote when they turn 18 or move, providing an opt-out mechanism.

Australia Ballot

An official state-printed paper ballot system introduced around the early 1900s to replace candidate- or party-printed tickets.

Lever System

A mechanical voting machine where voters pull down levers for chosen candidates and pull an arm to register choices on internal mechanical counter wheels.

Butterfly Ballot

A punch-card ballot design featuring choices set up across a central booklet, requiring voters to punch numbered holes into a Fortran card corresponding to their selected candidates.

Chad

The small square piece of paper intended to be punched out from a punch-card ballot.

Hanging Chad

A punch-card chad where two or three corners are perforated and attached, leaving the paper hanging off the card.

Pregnant Chad

A punch-card chad that has been deeply indented or dimpled by a stylus but not fully punched through the card.

Overvoting

An election error where a voter selects or punches more choices for a single office than is legally permitted.

Undervoting

An election occurrence where a voter leaves a choice blank or fails to sufficiently mark or punch a candidate selection for a given office.

Help America Vote Act

Federal legislation passed following the 2000 election dispute that eliminated butterfly punch-card ballots and restricted state voting systems to electronic or optical scan options.

Electronic Voting Machine

A voting system where voters cast their ballots directly using a computer interface, such as a touchscreen or selection dial.

Optical Scan Ballot

A paper ballot system where voters manually complete arrows or fill in bubbles on a card, which is then read and processed by a Scantron-like optical scanner.

Voter's Oath

A sworn pledge required upon registration in select states, such as Alabama (to uphold the US and state constitutions) and Vermont (to vote according to conscience).