Explaining the election

• Counting the ballots: Want to follow election results like a pro? Here’s what to watch in key states
• Voter fraud: Yes, it happens. But it’s rare, and election offices have safeguards to catch it
• Hand-counting votes: Election conspiracy theories fueled a push to do so, but the practice is risky and slow
• Calling races: If the polls just closed, how can AP already declare a winner? Here’s what to know
• The media’s role: News media don’t run elections. Here’s why they call the winners

At the heart of many election conspiracy theories is a simple truth: America’s voter rolls are imperfect.

The U.S. doesn’t have a central voting list. It has a bunch of different lists. And they will always be slightly off.

Charles Stewart, an election data expert at MIT, remembers being at a conference 20 years ago, and an election official from Belgium was talking about voter rolls.

“He said, ‘The problem with you Americans is that you were never conquered by Napoleon,’” Stewart recalled. “Napoleon wanted to know where everybody was.”

In other words, many democracies have national voter lists. But in the decentralized U.S., lists are maintained at the state and local level, which leaves election officials across the country always trying to keep up with a population that moves and dies and is generally changing every single day.

One other difficulty when it comes to making sure noncitizens aren’t registered is there isn’t a single national database of all U.S....

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibEFVX3lxTE9RRjRpUEN3QXFoMjEtSERGMWw3...