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In America and many other countries, one special kind of box contains the future. It’s called a ballot box. What people put into the box on Election Day can change the course of history.
Elections are the (36) of a democracy. The word democracy (37) means "the people rule", an important (38) in America’s history. In America, elections are held every two years for members of Congress. In these elections, all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats are up for grabs. Every four years, voters go to the polls to (39) the nation’s president and vice-president. Voters also regularly vote for state and city government leaders and local school board members.
In the American electoral system, people don’t really vote for presidential candidates. Instead, voters (40) their ballots for "electors" who support each candidate. Each state has as many electors as the (41) number of its representatives in Congress. This (42) two senators per state plus the number of its representatives in the House. The candidate who has the most votes in a state wins all of the state’s electors. To win the presidential election, a candidate must (43) at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes.
(44) . Some early reforms outlawed cheating, giving bribes and threatening voters. (45) . In 1870, black people gained the right to vote, and in 1920, that right was extended to women. In recent decades, laws against unfair rules for voting have been passed. (46) .