On 9 Nov 2003 17:32:44 -0800, Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson  ...
>
>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."