Voting is how people get a say in what happens in their city, state or country. In the United States, a citizen who is 18 or older can vote. That is the rule as of February 2026. Non-citizens cannot vote in federal or state elections, or in most local elections, as of February 2026. That includes permanent legal residents. Let's follow a vote from the first step to the last. Then we will look back at where democracy began, and at how the rules for voters changed.

The first step is registering. In almost every state, people register to vote first, but North Dakota does not require it. Every state has its own voter registration deadline. In almost every state, a person can register before turning 18 if they will be 18 by Election Day. Some states also let 17-year-olds vote in primaries if they will be 18 by Election Day. All of these rules are as of 2026.

Next come the place and the day. Here is where people go and when. On Election Day, many people go to a polling place to vote. Polling places are often in schools, community centers, or other public buildings. As of November 2026, many states let people vote in person before Election Day. Some people vote by mail or drop off a ballot early. In federal elections in the United States, a person cannot vote online. In most elections they vote in person at a polling place. Others use an absentee ballot. That is as of February 2026.

Then comes the ballot itself. Let's look at two ways to vote. One common way to vote in the United States is optical scan. The voter marks a paper ballot with pen or pencil. A machine tallies it. Another way is touch-screen voting. Voters pick on a computer screen. These are two common ways to vote, as of November 2026. In the voting process the voter's choice stays secret. Machines or election workers count the votes for each candidate. In Australia, the states of Victoria and South Australia were the first to introduce a secret ballot, in 1856. That is why it is called the Australian ballot.

Last comes the count. The winner of an election is decided by rules that the voters and leaders have agreed on before the election. Many votes are decided by a simple majority. Then the results come in. In Johnson County, Kansas, results shown after the polls close on Election Day are unofficial until they are certified a couple of weeks later. Every country that holds elections sets its own rules about who is allowed to vote, and today, most countries allow nearly all adult citizens to vote.

Think about why people vote. In democratic countries, voting is a right. It is also called a responsibility, because citizens must take part in the electoral process for the government to work for the welfare of the people. People vote for candidates to hold local, state and national positions. In government, people choose representatives to make decisions for them.

Now look back to the beginning. The word democracy means "rule by the people." It comes from Greek words. Direct democracy was practiced in small communities. All or nearly all citizens could meet in an assembly. Representative democracy began in larger communities. These were the nation-states that developed in Europe and North America in the 18th century. The ancient Greeks were the first people to practice democracy in a community as large as a city. In the 4th and 5th centuries BCE Athens had 30,000 to 60,000 male citizens. The assembly met on the Pnyx hill, in a space that could hold about 6000 citizens.

Who could vote in the new United States? Owning property of a certain size or value was the earliest qualification for voters. Later came the call for women's suffrage. In July 1848 the Seneca Falls Convention in New York launched the women's rights movement. It also called for woman suffrage. The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify it. That gave it the agreement of three-fourths of the states.

The Electoral College is the system that chooses the President. It has 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is needed to elect the President. That is the rule as of November 2026. Now go back to 1800. A tie in 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr led to the 12th Amendment. It was ratified in 1804. It required separate votes for President and Vice President.

Words to know

• ballot: voting paper
• registering: signing up
• absentee: away vote
• certified: made official