With the help of elections, people have long since determined how to act, who will be appointed to govern a city or a country, and indeed they will solve a variety of issues in this way. Moreover, the first election of the authorities took place many centuries ago, despite the fact that almost absolute monarchies have still been preserved in some places in the modern world.
This process is very original in Malaysia. Different provinces are ruled by sultans, but the king is chosen from among them every five years. The president of Uruguay, whom the whole country still adores, was elected time after time. In the end, he himself resigned due to his advanced age. Uruguayans had to accept his resignation. It is known for certain that several thousand years ago, people were appointed to many important posts in the city-states of Ancient Greece by election. The most “short-term” president in history was Pedro Laskurayn. After the sudden death of the incumbent head of the country, urgent elections were held, in which he won, but not wanting this post, he immediately resigned after taking the oath, having been in the presidency for less than an hour. Slavery in the United States could be abolished even before the Civil War between North and South. On this occasion, a vote was taken, however, it was lost by a margin of one vote, so slavery remained at that time.
In the US, not all citizens vote in the presidential election, but state representatives, who, in turn, are elected by residents. And the former American president, Reagan, the ex-actor, set a real record – 49 states out of 50 voted for him. In some countries, participating in elections is not a right, but a duty, and those who shy away from its execution will face a fine. Such a system operates, for example, in Australia and Peru. Cosmonauts in orbit can also take part in the elections. An encrypted communication channel is used to transmit their votes.
An interesting system operates in Switzerland. Citizens of the country there have the right to cancel any law adopted by the government at all, if 50,000 signatures are collected for canceling it within a hundred days after its adoption. In North Korea, the most totalitarian country in the world, elections are also held, as it were, but there is only one name on the ballots – the name of the current leader of the country. For damaging someone else’s ballot in Italy, you can go to jail for a long period – up to six years. One day in Haiti, during the reign of dictator F Duvalier, irregular ballots were provided to voters at the polls. The only question was whether they agreed to appoint Duvalier as president for life, and the possibility of only an affirmative answer.
The US state of New Mexico has an interesting law. According to him, in the event of a tie in the election, candidates can determine the winner by playing something like cards or dice. This law still exists, the last time it was applied a couple of decades ago. In Peru, young citizens receive a passport only after they first vote in elections. In Veliky Novgorod in Ancient Russia, the prince was chosen, but not inherited, the throne. In Switzerland, now one of the most prosperous countries in the world, women did not have the right to vote in elections until 1971.
