By Isaac Ongiri

It is much simpler to vote in America than in any other African country, where one is not sure of their voting status until they cast their vote.

But like the rest of the world, one must have attained the age of 18 to be eligible to participate in a federal presidential election in the US.

Various states may have different regulations and standards, which one must attain to qualify to vote, but there are general similarities.

But above all, one has to be an American citizen, must bare a government issued national ID card, and must have registered as a voter in a particular state at least 30 days before the election day.

Unlike in Kenya where one has to physically visit the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) in the US, one can register as a voter via facilitated process in the Internet made available by the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC).

Those who register by mail are however forced to carry their IDs to the polling centres on the polling day.

And there are absentee voters too, those who cast their votes days before the official polling day. In the just concluded poll, over 24 million Americans voted in absentia.

Obama’s grandmother Madelyn Dunham who died on the eve of the elections was among the absentee voters. She cast her vote while still at the hospital.

USING INTERNET

Registered voters can request for absentee ballot papers, and this can be done by filling an application form. Such documents are easily available on the Internet. The ballot papers contain a list of the choices for the voters.

In the last elections the US voters, were voting to elect the President, Vice President, Members of the US House of Representatives, Members of the US Senate and State Governors all this information on one ballot paper.

Like in Kenya, various institutions are turned in poling centres, they may be schools or colleges and are fitted with electronically managed machines which also act as the ballot storage, known in Kenya as ballot boxes.

Rather than carry an ID and a voting card to a polling centre for one to vote, in the US most states allow people to just carry their driving licence.

Again, unlike Kenya, Americans who are eligible to vote can do so from anywhere in the world. Even members of the armed forces are allowed to vote.

And finally after voting in a secluded voting booth, one picks a sticker marked ‘I have voted’, as opposed to dipping the thumb in a can of ink like is done in Kenya.

FEC

Only six Electoral Commissioners oversaw the historic American elections in which Democrat Barrack Obama emerged the winner.

The United States with a general national population estimated at over 350 million has only eight political parties.

According to official information obtained from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the US electoral system is run by six commissioners.

The commission is headed by a chairman who has a deputy, and together they oversee the operations of the polls.

All the six parties namely Constitution Party, Democratic Party, Green Party, Independent American Party, Libertarian Party, Reform Party, Socialist Party, Party for Socialism and Liberation and Republican Party participated in the just concluded elections.

Unknown to many there were a total of eight candidates gunning for presidency, which saw the first black American rise to power.

CROWDED FIELD

Apart from Barak Obama and Republican John McCain, other candidates included Ralph Nadir (Independent), Cynthia Mckinney (Green Party), Chuck Baldwin (Constitution), Bob Barr (Libertarian Party), Gloria La Riva (Party of Socialism and Liberation) and Brian Moore (Socialist Party)

However the Democrat and the Republican parties have dominated the American political scene locking out minor parties.

In sharp contrast to Kenya, which has an average of 34 million voters, America has over 100 million voters.

Electoral Commission of Kenya is run by 22 commissioners headed by a chairman, who like his counterpart in US take charge of the election process.

In Kenya, there are 139 officially registered political parties most of which participated in last year’s general elections.