U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for November 15: Absentee Voting

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

ABSENTEE VOTING

Profile America — Tuesday, November 15th. This month marks the 152nd anniversary of absentee ballot voting in the U.S. This measure was introduced during the Civil War to permit Union army soldiers in the field to choose between re-electing Abraham Lincoln or sending his opponent, George McClellan, to the White House. But on this date in 1896, Vermont became the first state to enshrine in law the concept of voting away from home, though the voter had to be within the state. All that was required to vote at any polling location was a certification of state residency. Early voting, including absentee balloting, is increasingly used in our elections. In 2014, of the 92 million votes cast, over 20.5 million were by the early or absentee vote method. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources:
Kane's Famous First Facts, 3431
1864 election/access 8/15/2016
http://blogs.dickinson.edu/hist-211pinsker/2010/10/12/election-of-1864-soldiers-and-absentee-voting/ 
2012 voting, table 1: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2014/tables.html 
Early voting/accessed 8/15/2016: http://www.electproject.org/2014_early_vote 

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Related Links

http://www.census.gov

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