Maat following monitoring the American Elections as part of its activities which support the right of participation

Electronic voting absentee and the right of citizens outside the borders of their country in political participation

 30/10/2008

Maat center for Juridical and constitutional studies through the participation of Ayman Okail director of the center, follows the American elections will be held in November 4, 2008, in an attempt to read its reality and become acquainted with the latest voting and participation mechanisms as well as the propaganda methods followed by the candidates, Republican and Democratic parties, the Center seeks to transfer the experience contribute to the development of the electoral process in Egypt And on the other hand, the center stresses on the difference of political and legislative environment between the two countries.

one of the things that has been monitored that the U.S. government is to follow "the absentee voting process" to activate the political participation of voters, and this method allows voters to cast their opinion on the elections before election day, either through the use of ballot papers allocated to the absent and sent by mail, or through going to a polling station before the election day.

The Information Center for early voting at the University of Reid in Portland, Oregon, said that there were 31 states allow residents to vote before the date of the elections without any excuse without explaining why voters couldn’t vote on the Election Day. Some states allow residents to hand over the ballot paper for absentees in a specific location, while others allow voters to cast their votes on the same machines which used on election day.
Some states impose on voters to say the reason of not going to the polls on Election Day, while allowing some states to vote by mail ballots before Election Day without any excuse.

 

States that allow "Absentee Voting" these states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Uoming and West Virginia.

 

As for those States which require to absentee vote signing of a witness or public notary is, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia.

One of the reasons which calls on Americans to vote before election day or the voting by post, that the election day is not an official holiday, which meant that many voters go to their places of work or school on that day, as well as allow time for voters to thinking of the issues of electoral programs of the candidates and gather information during the filling of ballot papers, or for reasons relating to the residence of voters outside the state, as well as Avoiding overcrowding on election day.

 

The vote comes after one day of the issuance of state courts ruled that it is possible for new voters to register and vote on the same day, while the Democrats supported this method but opposed by Republicans as the vote on the same day, opens the way for fraud in the elections.

 

The U.S. federal government began to work with local authorities in various states to ensure that the American soldiers and their families to vote in various locations around the world, during the upcoming presidential election "Polly Brunelli" the director of Federal Program of the election, during a press conference held In Washington, said that the importance of the step stems from the fact that elections in 2004, showed that 73 % of military resident outside the country to benefit from the program of absentee voting.

 

the United States apply a program "Absentee Vote", to who wish to use the exercise of the right to vote from outside the U.S. border, using e-mail or post or even fax, with 21 U.S. state has laws allow the delivery and receipt of ballot papers via e-mail and fax, and Congress is trying to pass a law that would allow for the Ballot papers on secure networks and provide the opportunity to download over the Internet for those who wish, and preparing mail centers civilian and military in the United States in turn to participate in this process and ensure the delivery of ballot papers for the militaries in time, including the elections papers belonging to the soldiers are now in troubled areas.

 

Now its not allowed for American soldiers to voting electronically during the presidential election, but the Ministry of Defense, "the Pentagon " is working on the draft of law to be applied in the next elections, but experience has proven that there is no mechanism to ensure that the voice of the voter went to those who want in the case of doubt, for example,  If a voter has given his voice to Obama and we want to make sure that there is no electronic voting substantiate what happened exactly.

 

It also allows U.S. citizens to request of returning the ballot papers through the mail. And the method of use of mail ballots is the main method used by members of the armed forces and other Americans who live outside the United States.

This has created increasing the numbers of voters who use "early voting and voting by absentee ballots" consider new challenges for those who engaged in election campaigns. It was the usual campaign strategies is to go to try to convince voters who have not yet made up their minds in the last two to three days before the election day, that has now become necessary to expand the strategy to reach voters who early to vote and to try to attract them as well.

 

The experts believe that "early voting" historically is not likely favor of one party on the other party. The majority did not believe that the increase in early voting will change the outcome of the presidential election because voters at an early date tended to be loyal to the party is unlikely to change their minds by events or debates, happen at a late stage in the campaign.

 

The U.S. military department encourages voting via the ballot papers for the absentees and received a lot of voters who live outside America, numbering about 4 million voters, and sent in the weeks preceding the election day ballot papers of the absentees through the mail, and among those voters who are abroad 1.4 million Element of the U.S. armed forces serving in different parts of the world, and the voters who live abroad and requested a paper ballot for absentees of the state to which belong to , and sending a paper ballot by mail, is completed before returning to the also-mail, and the process could take weeks In areas with the slow postal services, raising fears among some about whether the cards will reach the United States in time for the counting of votes or not,

 

The electronic voting has been introduced by the Government of Iraq also some Arab Gulf countries seek to be included in the electoral mechanisms, and correct safeguards  consequences were not clear, however, the many compare uses of Arab governments including Egypt to its use of the Internet to provide services and the possibility of success in electronic voting for Termination of fraud in general elections disaster that marked the ages of rule by a number of Arab regimes and their parliaments and even municipal elections.

 

The process of "Absentee Voting" before Election Day in the days before the day of the vote shall be an important question from the insistence of Arab governments, including Egypt to make any parliamentary or presidential elections in one day ?????!!!

Although the 2005 Egyptian parliamentary elections were held in three phases so that there will be a full judicial supervision (before the amendment of article 88 of the Constitution, which allowed full judicial oversight at all stages of the electoral process.

Although the vary in voting turnout in the cities and villages and the reluctance of many citizens enrolled in elections tables to electoral participation, as well as intervene of the State bodies in the elections in different ways and control of the ruling party and public officials on the entire electoral process.

 

The most notable feature of the early vote, as well as electronic voting is minimizing the possibility of interference by the authorities in the electoral process, particularly the security services, as this non-traditional methods of voting indicated the possibility to stop the conflict of money , buying votes and fighting for electoral commissions on election day and prevent citizens from voting , black the electoral cards and the collective voting, which were all characterized the electoral process in Egypt for years and exposed by human rights and press reports supervision to consecutive elections.

 

On the other hand, the United States of America is trying to facilitate the vote of its citizens living outside its borders , a right which the Egyptians live outside remain, deprived from it despite easily applied in Arab countries where the majority of Egyptians abroad, or in Western countries supported the political rights of their citizens and encourage other nations and demands for legislative reforms in the laws regarding the conduct of political rights, in order to facilitate the access of citizens to equal opportunities in the nomination and vote the right which can be eradicates the Egyptians feel as strangers in overseas from home or only a human mean to bring hard currency through their seasonal flights to Egypt.