Thousands of votes were annulled in the US elections. Young people failed to sign the ballots.

More than 13,000 young people's ballots in the US elections were rejected in the state of Nevada. This is because Generation Z voters (Zoomers - "Glavcom") failed to certify their votes with a signature. This was reported by The Washington Post.

Handwritten signatures are an outdated method of verifying votes, according to the political organization VoteAmerica. Schools in the US do not focus on handwriting, so a personal signature is not a pressing need for the younger generation until it comes to elections. Thus, due to unclear marks, the commission rejects their ballots.

«When they (Zoomers - "Glavcom") register to vote using an automated system, they sign on a digital tablet at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and this becomes their signature on the voter ID. It may look different from their pen-on-paper signatures», said Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar.

Activists are calling for the invention of a new unique identifier. For example, this could be a combination of the voter's birth date and part of their social security number.

«I live in California, where everyone gets their ballot by mail. Over the years, more than 3% of the ballots have been rejected because the signatures do not match. The people determining this are not experts in handwriting analysis. It’s a widespread issue», said VoteAmerica founder Debra Cleaver.

Cleaver is concerned that during a tense presidential race, rejecting votes due to invalid signatures could be seen as an «deliberate attempt to suppress youth turnout». However, this problem also affects the elderly and voters who have recently married and may not have updated their name in the register.

The state secretary's office sends notifications to the youth since Zoomers often do not respond to calls and are harder to reach. Nevada state officials reported that 12,939 ballots have already been successfully corrected.

Election authorities could leave handwritten signatures on paper in the past, as handwriting has not been studied in many schools for decades, added Debra Cleaver.

Presidential race in the US: voting rejection due to invalid signatures

Recall that elected the 47th President of the USA, Donald Trump is preparing significant changes during his return to the White House. Although Trump often avoided specifics, over more than a year of political speeches, he outlined a wide plan that combines traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation, and cultural issues with a more populist focus on trade and changing the international role of the USA. This plan also provides for reducing federal government efforts in protecting civil rights and expanding presidential powers.

As known, 295 electors voted for Republican Donald Trump. This result is sufficient to become the president of the USA. Trump's opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, received 226 electoral votes.

Notably, The Wall Street Journal points out that Donald Trump's victory in the elections was not as close as the polls predicted. He regained the support of states he lost in 2020 and did so with a coalition that included more young voters.

However, Trump's return would have been impossible without the political failures of the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress. He won because President Biden failed to deliver the unity and prosperity he promised and because over four years, voters became disillusioned with the results of his progressive policies.