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2009 30th
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We've received a lot of compliments on our vote box ever since we rolled it out this spring. Someone suggested putting the box facts and statistics on our site, so here they are.

WHY THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE?
As the framers of the Constitution considered how to elect the president and vice president, two choices emerged: direct popular election or election by Congress. The method they chose—indirect popular election (it was not dubbed the "Electoral College" until decades later)—was a compromise that reinforced the cohesiveness of the young nation. As the country grew, the Electoral College effectively balanced power between large and small states.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
"Old enough to fight, old enough to vote" was the Vietnam-era sentiment behind the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. Ratified in 1971, it lowered voting age from 21 to 18.

WHY DO WE VOTE IN NOVEMBER
Since 1845, U.S. presidential and congressional elections have taken place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Why? FARMERS ARE TOO BUSY THE REST OF THE YEAR. American society was largely agrarian in 1845, and in November the harvest was in and the weather mild enough for travel on dirt roads. POLLING PLACES WERE FAR AWAY. Back then, voting could take place only at the county seat—sometimes a day away by horse and buggy. NO TRAVEL ON SUNDAY. To make it to a polling place on a Monday, a voter would have had to miss church to hit the road. BOOKKEEPING AND MARKETING. Most businesses finished the books early in the new month, and farmers took their crops to market on Wednesdays. That left Tuesday. SHOULD ELECTION DAY BE MOVED? The U.S. ranks in the bottom 20% of the world in voter participation.

EVERY AMERICAN'S RIGHT TO VOTE
During Reconstruction after the Civil War, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified (in 1870) to ensure that United States citizens could not be denied the right to vote because of race. Further amendments and the Voting Rights Act were later required in order to stop states from denying rights articulated in the 15th Amendment.

SUFFRAGETTE CITY
Although a few states (including Washington) had already granted women the right to vote, it took the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1920, to recognize suffrage of all American women over the age of 21. Only about one in three women voted in the presidential election that year. In fact, they didn't turn out to vote in numbers greater than men until 1980.

AUSTRALIA 95, USA 55
At election time, 95% of Australians go to the polls. Why? It's been the law since 1924. Refuse and get fined; refuse to pay, go to jail. Do you think a law like that would inspire American voters to improve on their 55% turnout in 2004? After all, Australia's turnout rate was 47% before the compulsory voting law was enacted.

PRESIDENTS RATE
Over the past 30 years, U.S. voter turnout has averaged 52.5% for presidential elections, whereas, in non-presidential elections it drops to under 40%.

WAS YOUR CANDIDATE POPULAR IN COLLEGE?
When we vote for president and vice president, we are actually choosing the Electoral College, a group of electors pledged to a specific candidate. In most states, the candidate who wins the popular election takes all the state's electors. The candidate that wins a majority of the Electoral College (at least 270 out of 538) becomes the next president.

HOW MANY ELECTORS REPRESENT YOU IN THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE?
The number of each state's electors is equal to the size of its Congressional delegation (2 Senators plus the number of House Representatives). The electors cast their votes in mid-December, but it's not official until January 6 when the votes are counted by the president of the Senate before a special joint session of Congress.

HOW DO WE STACK UP?
Washington ranked among the highest in voter turnout for the 2004 presidential election. 82% of all registered voters participated, compared with 89% in Colorado and 85% in Oregon.

QUESTIONS ABOUT VOTING OR VOTER REGISTRATION?
You find lots of good info about voting at http://www.vote.wa.gov. Learn registration requirements, download registration forms (in your choice of eight different languages), check your voter status, find your county elections auditor, and/or opt for an absentee ballot.gov