Electoral systems vary from country to country. For example, in Japan it is totally a voter\u2019s right to decide whether to cast a ballot or not, and local governments play an important role in election management.<\/p>\n
This weekend, on 14 December, a national election for the House of Representatives will be held. During the election period, Japanese local government staff, especially Municipal Election Management Committee staff members, will very likely be busy.<\/p>\n
Before the election, they have to prepare voting lists which are based on the resident registration system. In Japan, people who live in a municipality must be registered as a municipal resident. Then, local government staff deliver voting tickets to all the voters in their municipalities.<\/p>\n
On the day of election \u2013 almost always a Sunday \u2013 they prepare polling stations in places such as schools and public halls. After the balloting hours (In Japan from 7: 00 am to 8:00 pm), they count ballots together with pre-poll votes usually until midnight.<\/p>\n
I still remember when I was a staff member of the Central Election Management Council and worked hard with local government election committee staff members for the 1996 national election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Electoral systems vary from country to country. For example, in Japan it is totally a…<\/span><\/p>\n