Interview about Voting

10/5/2012

Over the long weekend, interview someone who has lived in another country about their experience voting or what they know about voting in that country. Summarize the results by writing your own post here- just a paragraph! Try to comment on ONE of your classmates' posts before class. Some potential questions you came up with today:
·     What age can you vote?
·     Are there any gender restrictions? Are there separate poling places?
·     How do you physically vote- what are the machines like? Are there machines or ballots? (What are the protocols for voting)
·     Where are the voting centers? How many are or were there?
·     What are your thoughts about voting there? How did or does it feel to vote?
·     What was your first experience voting like?

43 Comments

Audrey C.W.

10/6/2012 07:21:02 am

My father has voted in Peru. He said that its much like our system here except for a few things. For one, it's mandatory to vote and if you don't you have to pay a high fine. Voting happens every 5 years instead of 4 like here. The poling places are at schools like here and everyone can vote. You also have to be 18 and older to vote. Instead of using a machine, they use a ballot. What amuses me the most is that even though my father hasn't lived in Peru for the last 20 years, he still has to vote at the Peruvian embassy or else he would still be fined.

lauren

10/8/2012 10:03:59 pm

Its very interesting that your father has to still vote for the President for Peru even though he doesn't live there.

JocelynR

10/9/2012 08:26:36 am

I agree with you. It is amusing that your father would still have to pay if he doesn't vote even though he is so far away from his country.

Soad A.

10/9/2012 08:34:48 am

I am surprised that this similar idea of being fined for non-voters is also found in Peru as well as Egypt. I feel like that is unfair though because this is supposed to be a person's free will. I find being fined for not voting is not a good idea for a country to have.

Rosa M

10/9/2012 11:49:49 am

I interviewed my father, Emiliano Montes. His first time voting was when he was 20 and it was also his last time voting. He voted in the plaza of his hometown. He had to put an X next to the candidate he wanted. He also had to put his fingerprint on his ballot so he wouldn't be able to vote again. My father though didn't like any of the candidates because to him they were all the same, they couldn't change the country. Therefore he didn't vote after that. My father said that there wasn't that long of a line to vote. You have to be 18 or older to vote and there are no gender restrictions. My father doesn't know about how they vote in Mexico nowadays. His experience was from 23 years ago. So he thinks some things might have changed since the time he first voted.

Christy D

10/9/2012 10:36:04 pm

WOW ! I've never heard of a country that is obligatory to vote for a president and if you don't you will have to pay a high fine. It will be interesting if we research how much the fine is. I wonder if the fine is different for middle class people and high class people .

Soad A.

10/6/2012 10:23:37 pm

Last year, my sister-in-law has voted in Egypt for the elections, which was her first time voting. She was 25 years old at that time. Her experience sounds different than our system here in the U.S. In Egypt, they don't use machines, but they use ballots. However, my sister-in-law was just voting in order to avoid being fined. For more that 50% of Egyptians voted for the same reason. My sister-in-law wasn't even interested into voting for any of the candidates and I'm sure that many Egyptians felt that way too, including me.

JocelynR

10/9/2012 08:30:45 am

Its so sad that in Egypt has come to the case that you describe; people not wanting to vote because the politicians there are not even good enough to become presidents. I can relate to that too, many Mexicans don't want to vote because they don't have good options.

Amina K.

10/7/2012 02:26:31 am

I interviewed my dad, Abdellah Ksiyer. He lived in Morocco for 25 years before coming to America. In Morocco, instead of having a President, we have a king so we don’t vote for the next king since the title is passed down into the family. However the people in Morocco do vote for the people in congress every 6 years. To vote you must be 18 or older and there are no gender restrictions, it is open to everyone as long as you are of voting age. My dad has only voted once when he was still living in Morocco and he says it was a good experience though he wished there weren’t so many political parties. My dad said that the voting processes and experience in both America and Morocco are similar yet still diferent. He said that the people use ballots to vote and on the slips of paper are different colors that represent the different political parties (about 8). Each community/town/village has their own polling places which are the schools. This is all that he remembers about the voting process in Morocco though he doesn’t know whether it had slightly changed or if it is still the same.

Rosa M

10/9/2012 11:53:26 am

My father also voted only once and he also doesn't know if things have changed since the time he voted. I find it interesting that the slips of papers are different colors for the different political parties.

Nancy L.

10/7/2012 06:49:23 am

I interviewed my mother, Regina Larcher, about her voting experiences. She is from Brazil but has never physically voted there. She grew up during Brazil's military government and when it collapsed in 1985, my mother left a few months later. It was an authoritarian government, so no one was allowed to vote.

However, she has voted for Brazilian candidates here in the United States. Similar to Audrey's father, if she doesn't vote, she would be punished severely. Some punishments don't apply to her (like not being able to get loans from a Brazilian bank) but she would receive a hefty fine and have her passport revoked (one of her few forms of ID in the US). If you can't vote for some reason, like being too sick, you need to fill out a lot of paper work and go through a lot of bureaucratic red tape so you don't lose any privileges.

The first election she voted for was in 1989, the first direct presidential election in Brazil, since 1960. She was very proud that finally, in her lifetime, she had a choice and say in things. Unfortunately, the candidate she voted for (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but to his people, he is just Lula) lost and the winner, Fernando Collor was a poor president. Regina actually compared Collar to US President Nixon because they were both impeached.

However, throughout the years, Lula kept trying to become president and my mom kept voting for him and in the 2002 elections, Lula became President Lula which she was very proud of because she's been his supporter for over 10 years.

The last presidential election had two women and one man running; even though the candidate that my mom supported didn't get through to the finals (Marina Silva, who also carried the flag in the Olympic Opening Ceremony for her activism, defending the Rainforest and other things), she was still happy with the winner, and current president, Dilma Rousseff (who is simply called President Dilma).

Brazilians not living in the US either go to a polling station, held in a school, or a consulate. If you don't live in a state with one of these things, you have to go to another state, which is why many Brazilians of New Jersey have to go to Manhattan to vote. However, Brazilians tend to move where there are already Brazilians and to have a polling station, there needs to be a big population of Brazilians in the area so this isn't a huge problem.

I went and voted with my mom twice in Manhattan. It's held normally in high schools because they are big buildings, designed to held a lot of people. You have to show either your Brazilian passport or photo ID and then you go behind a curtain in a makeshift cubicle and vote on an electronic screen. When my mom was leaving the booth, some random person asked her who she voted for but she didn't answer him because it's in poor taste to do so.

Like Amina's dad, she doesn't have complete local knowledge of how voting works in Brazil itself.

Saima R.

10/8/2012 01:44:56 am

Over the long weekend I interviewed my mother, Lipika Chowdhury, about her voting experiences in Bangladesh. She grew up in Bangladesh and at about 20 she was eligible to vote for the first time.

Similar to America, the voting booths would be held in elementary schools or high schools. There were no gender restrictions and there still aren’t, so anyone above the age of 20 could vote. However there are separate lines and polls for women and men to vote. Unlike the levers used in America, over there you vote through ballots, similar to how Soad’s sister–in-law and Amina’s dad did. You choose your candidate and you fold the paper and drop it into the ballot.

My mom’s first voting experience was hectic and exciting at the same time. She said that she and a couple of her friends went together. It was the first time her friends were voting as well. They walked into the school and there was a huge line coming from the women’s polls. It was tiring to stand on line for so long, but once they actually got the paper of who to choose, was when the excitement came. My mom was so excited that she finally had a voice in the govt. and could make a change.

I also asked my mom, what some negative aspects of voting in Bangladesh were. She said that at times when one of the political parties wanted to win, they would cheat and fill out the votes of those that didn’t come and put them in the ballot box. She said it was definitely unfair, but there was nothing you could do about it. She doesn’t know how the voting works now because two years after her first vote, she came to America. She also said that the best part about voting in America is that you votes aren’t cheated. Your votes really do count. Not only was that a great aspect, but compared to Bangladesh the lines of voting isn’t even close. Here the lines are practically with three or four people and there are many booths you can use.

Overall, my mom’s voting experiences in America are much better than those in Bangladesh.

Angelica Syeda

10/8/2012 08:27:58 am

Saima, my mom was also telling me how people filled out the votes for those who didn't show up. People are so ridiculous!

Jasmina L.

10/8/2012 01:50:24 am

I interviewed my grandfather from Germany. First, to start off Germany and the United States are comparable is that the both a legislature system, in which that means that assembly has the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. Also, similar to the Democratic and Republic party is Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Social Union. Nonetheless, something different is that Germany election period could be from five years and also their voting dates vary from state to state. In the United States, the term for President is for fours years unless they are re-elected. Another difference the United States and Germany hold, is that for Germany you must be a resident in Germany for only 3 months, however, in the United States you must be a citizen and lived in the United States for five years.

Glückliche Voting! (Happy Voting!)

Michelle Soria

10/8/2012 04:14:07 am

I interviewed my mother Lilia Soria, that was born in Ecuador. Everyone is allowed to vote in Ecuador after the age of 18 with an ID. However my mother didn’t vote until the age of 19 at the nearest school on a Sunday. The government makes everyone vote on the same Sunday and all at once. There is normally big long lines because the government in Ecuador isn’t advanced in technology so everything is done on paper instead of machines. The location of the voting is in schools, campus, and any giant space. My mother feels the voting is overwhelming in Ecuador because she’s able to compare in to here and takes too long. However she explains that voting feel great because she feels she’s giving her opinion in something important.

Mayar Mansy

10/9/2012 06:11:34 am

Ecuador's voting process seems very similar to Egypt's process.

Jocelyn R

10/8/2012 05:21:50 am

My mother, Carolina Fragoso has voted in Mexico. She said that you have to be 18 years or older in order to vote. There are no gender restrictions this days but there is a few men that believe that women shouldn't be given the right to vote, fortunately my mom didn't get any type of harassment because of this. The voting centers are located anywhere, schools, particular houses etc. This demonstrates that is very important to vote.She said that when she was going to vote for the first time, she felt it was very important because she would contribute to her country. When you go vote, they already have this big book were they look for all of your information and once they confirm who you are you can go to the small cabinets they have and vote, then place it in a ballot.

Stephanie Ramirez

10/9/2012 08:17:02 am

I find it interesting how still now a days men think that women shouldn't really vote.

Kristen P.

10/8/2012 06:10:23 am

I talked to a friend named Eri. She doesn’t have full knowledge on how voting works. Eri is 15 years old and lives in Norway and it’s going to be a few years until she gets to vote. The voting age is 18, though in the recent years politicians have been discussing whether it should be moved to 16 or stay at 18. Norway is a country with strong egalitarian (all people are equal and have equal opportunities) principles, women and men can vote freely. An Electoral Committee is in charge of choosing one or more places in each county for voting. Ballot papers in polling booths are used to vote rather than machines. The people who don’t vote are called “sofavelgere”, which means “sofa voters”, and that is apparently a negative term. In Norway, they vote for a new prime minister every fourth year and new mayors for its counties every second year. The dominant political parties in Norway are Høyre and Venstre, right and left, or republican and democratic.

Nashly Torres

10/8/2012 07:07:31 am

I actually interviewed my mom ,Rosario Torres My mom said that she could vote at the age of 18 .There were no gender restrictions and everyone would vote in the same place . In the time my mom voted there was only ballots the protocols were to have been born in Ecuador and be eighteen .The voting centers were usually in schools and or universities and in principal streets of the city and they were many places where people went to vote .My mom thought that it's everyone's right to choose their leader .My mom said it felt good to be able to choose one's leader not only does she like it because it gives you the right to choose instead of have a dictator but she also likes it because there was a time in Ecuador when Ecuador had a dictator so she feels that it's right now to be able to choose a leader .My mom's first experience voting was good and she liked it she was 20 at the time she was able to feel like an adult and she felt glad to be able to choose the leader of her country it is also held every four years. My mom was only able to vote once and she was glad too she only voted once because then she came to the united states with my father . My mom also says that it's not the same but only because votes are written on ballots and lines have to be made and there usually really long .

Michelle Soria

10/9/2012 08:31:02 am

It's really nice to know our mothers felt the same way about voting in Ecuador. My mom explained that the technology is really bad and thats why there isn't machines to vote like there is here in America.

Angelica Syeda

10/8/2012 08:25:00 am

I interviewed my mother, Masuda Ruma, about her voting experiences in her home country, Bangladesh. Ruma lived in Bangladesh for about 20 years before she came to America. She was lucky to have a chance to vote in Bangladesh, because you have to be 20 years and older, whether you are a female or male, to be qualified to vote.
Being in the same situation as Saima’s mother, Lipika Chowdhury, in Bangladesh the voting is held at elementary or high schools. As of now, there is security from the RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), although when Ruma voted there were police guards and officers. The voting happens through a ballot box. Bangladesh is a parliamentary system; it is a system of the democratic government, having elected representatives and a Prime Minister.
While voting, a paper is given to each person on the long awaiting line. On the paper, there are symbols, such as boats, lanterns, pineapples, umbrellas, and much more. Each person is to place their fingerprint and name on which ever symbol they want to vote for. After that, the paper is to be folded and put into the ballot box. The symbols represent the different candidates and their groups. In America, an elephant symbolizes the Republicans, while a donkey symbolizes the Democrats.
In Bangladesh, there are many districts, and a new Chairman is elected every time there is an election. The Chairmen are the representatives for each district, and out of the 345 members of parliament, 45 are female. It is similar to the election in America; we have to vote for a new representative, like the one for Astoria.
Ruma was very excited due to her uncle running and winning as a Chairman, and his symbol was a lantern. With that, the two Candidates running for Prime Minister were Sheikh Hasina, from the Awami League party, and Khaleda Zia, from the BNP party. The political parties are similar to the political parties in America, being a democratic or a republican. Many of the groups bribed people with money, concerts, food, school activities, to vote for them. No one stopped this cheating, because they were scared that people might use violence to those who said something, so the votes were counted.
Many were still happy, due to the change they were taking in the government. Ruma heard many scream out “Joy Bangla” meaning happiness to Bengalis and Bangladesh, very similar to God Bless America. Even if people lived far, they did all they could to get to the ballot boxes at the schools to vote, since elections are held every 5 years. The voting experience in Bangladesh for Masuda Ruma was a long process, but it was all worth it.

Maisha Samiha

10/8/2012 10:41:23 am

My grandfather was a chairman of a district! And my parents told me about the two parties for becoming Prime Minister. It is very interesting how unlike the United StAtes, Bangladesh has been run by a woman for many years.

Tatyana N

10/8/2012 08:31:32 am

I spoke with my mother about voting in Afghanistan and I discovered that the voting age there is 18. At the time she lived in Afghanistan voting did not exist. She is aware of the new voting rights that have been established there, however, she believes voting in Afghanistan cannot always be trusted because of fraud and credibility. When voting in Afghanistan, ballot boxes are handed out by the election workers. Both men and women are allowed to vote. Yet, the women and men vote separately in different poll stations. My mother said she is unaware of how many voting stations there are in Afghanistan because they are constantly changing due to public safety. My mother feels that natives to the country more specifically women, want to vote and want to have their opinions heard, but the fear that is instilled in them by extremists have made them rethink their approach on voting. My mother and I both believe that voting is a basic human right. Every individual in entitled to his/her own voice, and we hope that Afghanistan will learn to except the democratic principals that we all take for granted.

Christina Poit

10/8/2012 09:35:42 am

I interviewed my grandfather about voting in Spain and I discovered that every election is 4 years. You can be 18 years old to vote. There are three types of election systems. There is social democracy, centrism and conservatism. Also the election dates can change in between those four years, sometimes it can be held every three years because the dates and times vary.

Alisa M

10/8/2012 09:40:11 am

I recently interviewed my Montenegrin father, Zajim Metovic. Born and raised in SFR Yugoslavia, present day Montenegro, he has never voted in his native country but knows the voting system well. As of 2006, Montenegro is a recently new independent country whom has only had one president. Similar to the US, elections for a new president will also be held there this year. The country is a parliamentary representative democratic country whose government work is run by its prime minister. The president creates laws and represents the country globally. Elections are held every five years through secret ballots like in the US, and a president may run for re-elction. Unlike the US whom in the end has two candidates (Republican or Democratic), elections in Montenegro allow for any number of candidates. To vote, one must be 18 years of age or older and have a Montenegrin citizenship. Voters vote in the local city high school, and from there on a president is chosen to lead for at least the next five years.

Jasmina L

10/9/2012 08:12:03 am

This is so similar to Germany's voting system; Germany has the voting age of 18 and have to be a citizen of Germany for at least 3 months. Also, voting after every 5 years is both a quality Germany and Montenegro both hold.

Maisha Samiha

10/8/2012 10:39:04 am

I interviewed my mother, Fouzia, about voting in Bangladesh and I asked her if she had the chance to vote before she immigrated to the U.S. she stated that she doesn't exactly remember how old she was but like Angelica and Saima's mothers, she was probably around 20 years old. Another similar statement my mother made was that there were no booths with levers, it was a ballot box and voting was held inside schools in even the tiniest villages. Everyone had the right to vote, no matter what social class. She told me that didn't vote for the big election of Bangladesh's parliamentary government system, but she did vote for the election of mayor of her town. My grandfather was actually a candidate in the election my mother was voting for and my mother was his daughter in law at the time. She told me that it was interesting experience since it was her first time voting. My grandfather resulted in winning the election and it was a great day for everyone.

Lauren Soler

10/8/2012 10:55:22 am

Over the long weekend I interviewed my grandfather, Felix Soler. He was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I asked him if he has ever voted for a President in Puerto Rico. He told me that Puerto Ricans became U.S citizens in 1917. They are not allowed to vote for U.S. presidents even though they are technically under the control of the U.S. Although Puerto Ricans are not allowed to vote for President as of 1947 they are allowed to elect a governor for Puerto Rico. My grandfather has never voted for a governor but he says that a new governor is elected every four years and they are allowed to vote once they are 18. That is some of the new information I found out about voting in Puerto Rico over the long weekend.

Noshin Ahmed

10/8/2012 11:29:14 am

I interviewed my mother, Shahana Ahmed about her first experience with voting. She was born in Bangladesh and lived there for approximately 25 years. She was 22 years when she first voted for the fifth general election in 1991. Bangladesh used to be a part of Pakistan but they gained their independence in 1971. Bangladesh’s political system was always a corrupt one, never as calm or normal as the United States. In Bangladesh, there’s a parliamentary system which is similar to Great Britain’s. The President of Bangladesh is simply the head of state, and simply there for show whilst a prime minister holds the real power and is head of government.
According to my mom, the man who used to be in charge of Bangladesh used to be a part of the military and the way he controlled the government was similar to a dictatorship ruling. He restricted freedom from the Bangladeshi community when all they wanted was a democratic government. The person she voted her was for a democratic government and she was absolutely thrilled to find out her vote actually meant something and was able to change her government.
The voting system was different from America; they didn’t have machines. They had a stamp to signify which government party they wanted to vote for. Each government party had symbols, just like the Democrats and Republicans do. They just simply stamped which leader they wanted to elect and inserted their vote into a box or a container where they kept everyone else’s votes. The voting booths were held in local high schools, official government buildings, the smallest of villages etc. Everyone was always crammed into the booths since anyone from each social class had the right to vote. The voting process was different from America because they had a civil way of handling everyone’s wants of voting. My mother never voted here in America but from the stories she hears from people and the news, she assumes the voting process is in a calm, official manner. She never registered to vote but she hopes to one day. I also hope she registers to vote in order to re-elect President Obama.

Veronica V

10/8/2012 12:04:25 pm

I interviewed my aunt, Marilen Prentiss. Since she hasn't voted in the Philippines for a decade or so, she doesn't remember every little detail. She told me the legal voting age is 18 and elections are held every four years. Similar to some of my classmates' responses, there are no machines so all the voting is done by hand. Before the actual voting, you would go to the registry and get a voting ID. Voting takes place in public schools, like they are in the US, and citizens would go to their designated precinct, show ID, sign their name and then receive a ballot to fill out. Some impoverished people, though, sell their ballots to the candidates because they are in need of money. It's gotten to the point where some Filipinos would rather have money to buy food than vote because they have very little faith in the government making reforms.

Mehak

10/8/2012 01:41:18 pm

I interviewed my aunt who is originally from Pakistan but is currently living in the USA. She had told me the starting age to vote had started at the age of 21 back then and now it has recently changed to the age 18. She had also told me that there were no gender restriction since the beginning but there was a division of poling places of the men and women. The lines of the men and women are divided and the rooms were different. When they are told to be separated they are taken into a room where they are told to use the ballot to vote. When my aunt was 18 the votes were held at different centers such as schools, houses, and other places. My aunt had also said she feel Pakistan voting is not considered a big deal in Pakistan. People are uneducated and they just go for fun as she had told me.

Aldina Klapija

10/8/2012 02:08:49 pm

I interviewed my father, Cazim Klapija, who was born and raised in Montenegro. His first year of voting in Montenegro was when he was 18 years old and it was the first election of former Yugoslavia. The first year of elections of former Yugoslavia were two years before the fall of Yugoslavia. He said even though Yugoslavia was the main land he was only allowed to vote for the branch where he was from which was former Serbia and Montenegro. Today in Montenegro, the voting system is different from the U.S because you have to vote from a list of over 20 political parties. Mr. Klapija said that you vote for local and national leaders all at once.This is very different from the U.S because there are different time periods of when to vote for local and national leaders. The system isn’t as modern like the U.S because you enter one main school of the entire city, provide your identification card, go in a booth, and with the paper you are provided with, you circle the names of the people you want to vote for and you need to provide a signature. He describes, it is different from the U.S because in the United States you are provided with a machine in order to vote. Some similar things of the Montenegrin system and the U.S voting system is that you need to be at least 18 years to vote, and the government is a democracy meaning the people have the power to vote for their representative. There are no gender restrictions meaning both men and women had the ability to vote. Cazim mentioned that what he dislikes of the voting/government system of Montenegro is that the same party has ruled the nation for about twenty years. Even though Montenegro is a recent nation who received their independence from Serbia about six years ago it is still ruled by the political leaders that have once governed former Yugoslavia. Mr.Klapija says that it is unfair that the people barely have a choice of their candidates because it’s always the same people who are eligible to run. Elections in Montenegro are every four years and the candidates are able to be re-elected as many times as they want.

My father didn’t get it too bad like Audrey’s and Nancy’s folks because he didn’t receive any punishments from the Montenegrin government. However, one thing that I believed was biased that the government did was have local representatives go to each individual’s home and make sure they were voting for the people the government wanted the people to vote for. My father said that the people felt obligated to vote for those certain candidates. Nothing happened if they said they weren’t going to vote for those certain candidates however, the representatives had a way of persuading the innocent citizens.

Cazim is happy he immigrated to the U.S because he has more of a freedom/say of the candidates of whom he would like to govern the nation and/or the city. He has generally accepted this voting system and doesn’t have any major complaints.

Gisselle F.

10/9/2012 07:53:38 am

I never knew that people went to almost each home to get the citizens to vote for a certain candidate in Montenegro. Then that means that who ever wins didn't really win they just won because they were bribing the people to vote for them. I'm sure that happens all over the world though not just Montenegro.

Mayar Mansy

10/9/2012 06:06:55 am

I interviewed my father, who is now 50 years old, and asked him about the elections in Egypt. My father told me that he never voted when he was young because it was a kind of dictatorship. He said the government chose whoever they wanted and the people had no voice. After the Egyptian revolution that happened in January 2011, people's voices were finally heard and they got to choose/ vote for their president. You had to be 18 or older to vote. My father told me that the process of voting would take place at schools and you had to have your I.D. with you. They would give you a paper that has the candidates' names and the people would vote by putting a check mark next to the name they wanted.

Gisselle F.

10/9/2012 07:46:33 am

I personally don't know anyone who has a voting experience. So instead I searched about what it is like to vote in France. In order to vote in France you have to be 18 or older. You also have to be registered. If the person is not registered they need to show their passport and proof of residence to get registered. A difference about the voting system of France and of America is that in France citizens aged 18 or older of other European Union countries may decide to vote in France. In some places there are machines used in the voting process but it is not preferable in France. Instead they still use the box and paper way. The voter puts an envelope containing the name or the list of people for who he or she votes and signs the electoral roll to avoid double votes and puts it in a box. But some French cities use voting machines. Criminals also have the right to vote in France (if they are out of jail); however they have a certain period of time depending on the crime they have done. The voting system in France is much like the American voting system.

Alisha Mukim

10/9/2012 07:53:11 am

I interviewed my aunt Bilqis Siddika and she said You are able to vote at the age of 18 in. There are not any gender restrictions to vote. They use the same poling place for both men and women. They gave them a paper and they chose who they like and put it in the box and then once they were done they would mark their finger with ink because many people would go more then once to vote for the persons they like they were usually held at a school there was a lot of schools and they chose a few schools to we're the people could vote for. They felt proud and happy and enjoyed that everyone came together to vote and they were excited if the person they picked won. She was underaged at the time to vote, but she knew how the voting center was back then in Bangladesh.

Stephanie Ramirez :)

10/9/2012 08:55:06 am

I dont really no anybody who has voted, but i searched up how voting takes place is in other countries, and the country that really grabbed my attention was Brazil. In order to vote in Brazil you have to be at least 16 years old, which i found really weird because in mostly all the countries you have to be 18 and older. Also in Brazil its mandatory for all citizens to vote and if you don't vote they are subject to fines if they do not report to their local Brazilian Embassy on election day to explain their absence from the polls. Also Election days are held on sundays so no one can have an excuse that they had to work because nobody usually works on sundays.

Tabitha Delacruz

10/9/2012 12:13:06 pm

I unfortunately did not have any person to interview, but i searched up information about voting in Dominican Republic and got some information.In Dominican Republic the election age is 18. People are allowed to vote at 18, and are also legally to participate in any government activity. People are required to vote, but not all citizens attend elections due to the fact that they feel as though the country does not have any improvement.Members of the arm forces and national police cannot vote. Dominicans are required to have and ID, when they take out the ID they are immediately registered for elections.They are assigned a place where they are required to go vote on election date.Some places include schools and government buildings. Elections are held every four years. Presidents elections are held every four years.Two years after the presidential elections, congregational elections are held. Congregational elections consists in electing new senators, majors, and helpers of office. Also Dominicans in the U.S can vote using absentee ballots. Meaning they can vote by filling out a form and mailing it in.

Areeg Abdelhamid

10/9/2012 08:50:21 pm

I interviewed my father, Islam Elsayed, about his voting experience in Egypt. He informed me that you can vote at the age of 18, however now 16 also can pass at times. Just like Michelle, you need to bring your I.D. which is basically your social security number. They don’t like you getting complicated so much. My dad said that when he turned 18, he also like Mayar’s father never voted. Similar to Saima and Angelica, they counted extra votes for who the government wanted to win. So what was the point of voting. If you didn't vote, you were fined. People would rather be fined than be lied to. Although Egypt was falsely called a “democracy”, it was in a dictatorship state. At the time, Mubarak was president and you couldn’t publicly say a word about his ruling. When my father turned 17, El Sadat ( president before Mubarak) was assassinated. Hosni Mubarak at the time was his vice president. This president unlike Hosni was loved by many and honored for fighting in the October 6 war, returning the Egyptian land. Some say that Mubarak had secret agents who killed Elsadat so he can become president. He was shot during a military ceremony. After Mubarak claimed presidency, he was brutal with the citizens and you basically didn’t want him to know you existed. He changed the government police and turned them into monsters who secretly worked for him. If you were known to hate or disagree with Mubarak and his “government”, you were blindfolded, taken to a secret place where you were knocked out or even dead. If you came to visit Egypt at the time, everything looked polished. The country you would say was “beautiful” but you wouldn't get to know the dark secrets behind it.

This June we can finally call the country a democracy. When I visited Egypt for the summer, you can see the smiles on people’s faces. Just like Soad had previously said, many didn't like the candidate choices. But it was better than nothing. Many can proudly say that they live in a democracy. Polling places are mostly separated by genders. Senior citizens are allowed a free pass and can skip the line as they wish. Why shouldn't they? Usually you would go to a school to vote.This recent legit presidential election, they had to repeat it again due to a tight race. Some were caught on cellphone video cameras sneaking votes in . However, they weren't charged. Some say they worked for the Mubarak's old system who wanted Shafeeq to win. He was one of the candidates and Mubarak's prime minister. Shafeeq would definitely allow him a free skip out of jail. Every citizen no matter how old, not only vote for themselves but for the ones after them. They want to ensure that from now on, we are heading towards a democracy. One that will allow their voice to be heard. Even though Egypt is one of the most advanced Arab countries in technology, they still use ballot boxes. Similar to what Aldina mentioned, at times the government sent out people who would make sure that you voted for them. They were also blackmailed. I don’t understand the importance of that because at the end, the corrupt leader would always win. Oh and the lines are long. They make take over an hour. So bring along something that will entertain you and keep you from wanting to smack the person behind you.

Christy D

10/9/2012 10:33:10 pm

I interviewed my mother Sonia Ramon. My mother never got the chance to vote in the Dominican Republic, but she said she knows about the system and how it works. In Dominican Republic she says that for you to be able to vote you need to be 18 and over. To vote you just need to fill in a form and mail it and then you have voted for the new president that will be the president for the next four years. When you fill in the form and you vote for the president of your choice you go to a place and you dip your finger in some ink and stamp it which declares you weren't force to vote for someone and it was your own decision.

Ishrak E

10/9/2012 10:58:28 pm

The voting process in D.R. is very similar to the United States.

Ishrak E

10/9/2012 10:56:33 pm

Since Morocco has a king, I figured that no voting ever happens there. But that's not the case. I interviewed my mother, Zahia Elamri. She told me that even though the people of Morocco don't choose their leader, they do choose their prime minister. My mother said that the legal age to vote in Morocco, similar to other countries, is 18. She never got the chance to vote because at the time when she was 18, women didn't really vote that much. And it was odd to see a woman going to vote, because it was mostly men. The process of voting is similar to the United States, just you don't have to register. Which makes the situation a bit messy because random people are just going to the ballots to vote and it isn't organized.

Interview about Voting

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