Counting votes in Japan
Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson
answer, so let's try in English:
I noticed that within half an hour of the polls closing there seemed
to be results from single-seat constituencies coming in. How do they
get them done so fast, considering they have to read each voting slip
to check the name, versus just an X in the right box in other
countries.
Similarly the PR seats also came in pretty fast - is it once they
have, say, 5% for one party in a 20-seat area, they announce a winner?
Oh, and the opening graphics on --- err, I forgot which channel -- for
their results coverage was entertaining - the candidates, 3-D animated
bobble-headed images, were shown going across that big long
level-crossing in Tokyo, and as the crossing timer counted down, and
the train approached, they started sprinting for the closing gate, but
which would get splattered by the yoron tokkyu?
Ken
The 2-Belo
>I tried asking the BYJW last night, but I didn't really understand the
>answer, so let's try in English:
>
>I noticed that within half an hour of the polls closing there seemed
>to be results from single-seat constituencies coming in. How do they
>get them done so fast
Most of what is shown on the terebi is probably exit polls, rather than the
actual counting of votes. This probably differs little from the US.
--
The 2-Belo
the2belo[AT]msd[DOT]biglobe[DOT]ne[DOT]jp
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Travers Naran
> Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson and fj.life.in-japan is a baaaaaaaaaaad combination:
>
>>I tried asking the BYJW last night, but I didn't really understand the
>>answer, so let's try in English:
>>
>>I noticed that within half an hour of the polls closing there seemed
>>to be results from single-seat constituencies coming in. How do they
>>get them done so fast
>
> Most of what is shown on the terebi is probably exit polls, rather than the
> actual counting of votes. This probably differs little from the US.
Last I heard, the American media has voluntarily given up exit polls (it
was blamed as part of the cause of the Indecision 2000 fiasco).
--
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Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson
> Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson and fj.life.in-japan is a baaaaaaaaaaad combination:
>
> >to be results from single-seat constituencies coming in. How do they
> >get them done so fast
>
> Most of what is shown on the terebi is probably exit polls, rather than the
> actual counting of votes. This probably differs little from the US.
No, I did notice when they talked about the "deguchi chousa" results.
I'm talking about frequent switches to the campaign offices and the
celebratory "bonsai!" by the successful candidates.
Ken
Brett Robson
>
>I tried asking the BYJW last night, but I didn't really understand the
>answer, so let's try in English:
>
>I noticed that within half an hour of the polls closing there seemed
>to be results from single-seat constituencies coming in. How do they
>get them done so fast, considering they have to read each voting slip
>to check the name, versus just an X in the right box in other
>countries.
>
I have no idea, but I'm not surprised. But in Australia the votes are counted at
the polling booth and the counting is watched by representatives of the
political parties, there's a word for them but I can't remember, they may
dispute individual votes as being formal or informal. These are then phoned into
the electoral commission. However the political party reps also phone the
results to the canditate office and these are collated, before the days of
mobile phones they went back to the office. Canditates often know the result
before the electoral commission knows. The result of a national election in
Austria can be known several hours after voting finishes, time zones
notwithstanding.
>Oh, and the opening graphics on --- err, I forgot which channel -- for
>their results coverage was entertaining - the candidates, 3-D animated
>bobble-headed images, were shown going across that big long
>level-crossing in Tokyo, and as the crossing timer counted down, and
>the train approached, they started sprinting for the closing gate, but
>which would get splattered by the yoron tokkyu?
>
Nothing like good taste?
.
.
----
"No country hides itself behind the paper screen of cultural elitism like Japan,
which, considering they've bought their entire civilisation from other people's
hand-me-downs, is a bit of a liberty."
Declan Murphy
> I have no idea, but I'm not surprised. But in Australia the votes are counted at
> the polling booth and the counting is watched by representatives of the
> political parties, there's a word for them but I can't remember
Scrutineers. An experienced scrutineer will also often know the result
at an individual polling booth a good 15-20 minutes before the officer
in charge of the booth.
--
"Thank God I'm an atheist" - Luis Bunuel
Drew Hamilton
>I noticed that within half an hour of the polls closing there seemed
>to be results from single-seat constituencies coming in. How do they
>get them done so fast, considering they have to read each voting slip
>to check the name, versus just an X in the right box in other
>countries.
Were the results announcing the final tally for each seat?
Don't know about Japan, but here (in Canada), each seat is elected by an
electorate of approximately 100,000 citizens, and those citizens may use as
many as fifty different polling places for each seat (ie, I would go to a
different polling place to elect the same person as someone who lives a couple
miles away). The news typically start announcing who has "won" a particular
seat after only a few polling places have repoted, since even by that time it
is usually pretty obvious that a partcular candidate is going to win that
seat.
In our last provincial election a month ago, the winners were all reported
by about 8:45 (polls closed at 8) with almost complete accuracy.
- awh
Jason Cormier
<a...@awh.org> wrote:
> Were the results announcing the final tally for each seat?
>
> Don't know about Japan, but here (in Canada), each seat is elected by an
> electorate of approximately 100,000 citizens, and those citizens may use as
> many as fifty different polling places for each seat (ie, I would go to a
> different polling place to elect the same person as someone who lives a couple
> miles away). The news typically start announcing who has "won" a particular
> seat after only a few polling places have repoted, since even by that time it
> is usually pretty obvious that a partcular candidate is going to win that
> seat.
>
> In our last provincial election a month ago, the winners were all reported
> by about 8:45 (polls closed at 8) with almost complete accuracy.
While it took almost an hour for some of the riding winners to be declared
(a couple even longer), the new government was announced about 90 seconds
after the polls closed on a couple of stations.
Kaz
> How do they
> get them done so fast,
Simply because the Japanese aren't Sepponians that take over one week
to count the votes for the presidential election. Do you remember how
they were slow to count the votes in last presidential election?