Written by: Ayleen Karamat
Multimedia Elements by: Prapti Bamaniya
Video by: Samira Omar
At least 75 per cent of American citizens can vote absentee due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic, according to History.
According to the Atlantic, from that 75 per cent are 5.5 million American citizens living abroad including military personnel. From that number, nearly 3 million are eligible to vote.
Absentee Ballot in History
In-person voting is simple and self-explanatory. Voters cast their ballots in person in a polling booth based on where they are registered to vote, while filling out a form that lists candidates and political parties.
An absentee ballot is a mail-in ballot that refers to a person who is physically not present at a voting center on Election Day. Due to the pandemic, many states changed their mail-in absentee voting policies allowing all voters to apply for an absentee ballot to help prevent the risk of spreading the virus.
Absentee and mail-in voting are interchangeable terms and depend on the state you are voting in, even if you are voting from another country.
Did you know the history of absentee voting dates back to the civil war, and has played a big role in history? Check out our multimedia below to learn more.
Story continues after the interactive.
A story map of the history in absentee voting (Prapti Bamaniya/JRN 270 RSJ)
American’s Voting Abroad: The numbers and stories
According to an article by the Atlantic, In 2016, only 7 per cent of Americans overseas voted in the election. While in the 2018 midterms, only 4.7 per cent of overseas Americans voted.
Story continues after the interactive.
An infographic to show the number of dual citizens voting (Prapti Bamaniya/JRN 270)
As for numbers in the 2020 elections, we won’t be seeing those anytime soon due to legal challenges and ballot recounts. But according to an article by the Greeley Tribune, “this year, mail-in voting posed the main challenge. Due to the pandemic, the number of Americans who voted by mail nearly doubled over 2016, to almost half of all ballots cast.”
Check out our video to see what American citizens, who hold dual citizenship with Canada, had to say on their experience on voting absentee in the 2020 elections.
VIDEO: (Samira Omar/JRN 270)
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