2004-10-22
This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.
Americans in some states are already voting in the November
second general elections. Thousands of people lined up to vote in
Florida, one of four states where early voting began Monday.
Election officials estimate that at least twenty percent of voters
will vote before Election Day. Those votes, however, will be counted
at the same time as the others, on November second.
Since the two thousand election,
many states have made it easier for people to vote before Election
Day. More and more people vote by mail. Absentee ballots are meant
for people who cannot go to their local voting station on Election
Day.
There is also a kind of ballot called a provisional ballot. These
are given to people who try to vote on Election Day but do not find
their name on voter lists. In two thousand two Congress passed the
Help America Vote Act. This law requires a provisional ballot to be
counted if officials are able to later establish that an individual
could vote. Republicans and Democrats, however, are fighting over
the rules for counting provisional ballots.
In the final days before the election, campaigning is aimed at
several states known as swing states or battleground states. These
are where Republican President George Bush and Democratic Senator
John Kerry are closest in levels of support.
Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania are considered the top three among
these states. Some political experts say whichever candidate wins
two of those three states will win the election.
Americans do not vote directly for their president. Instead, each
of the fifty states represents a number of electoral votes. The
number is related to population. A candidate must gain at least two
hundred-seventy out of five hundred thirty-eight electoral votes to
win.
In two thousand, the dispute over the vote in Florida lasted more
than a month. The Supreme Court finally decided the legal battle.
Many Americans are concerned about the possibility of another such
delay.
Democrats and Republicans have been organizing thousands of
lawyers to deploy on Election Day. A coalition of civil rights
groups says it will have six thousand lawyers and law students to
assist minority voters. The Republican National Lawyers Association
says it has trained about one thousand lawyers to watch for anyone
who tries to vote illegally.
Some international election
observers are already at work. And computer experts plan to watch
for any trouble with electronic voting machines that will be used in
many places.
Election officials around the country say record numbers of
people have registered to vote. This includes record numbers of
Americans living in other countries. Officials estimate that six
million Americans live outside the United States. At least half are
registered to vote. This includes about five hundred thousand
members of the military and their families.
In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk.
This is Steve Ember.