1. In the US, after you vote you get a sweet sticker.
And you can put the sticker on your face and look cool all day.
You don't get a sticker in the UK.
2. The UK ballot is as simple as this.
An American one will usually look more like this.
3. In the US, depending on what state you're in, you either have to feed your ballot into a big machine...
...or use an electronic voting machine...
...or something else scary and complicated.
In Britain, you just, like, stick it in the box.
4. In the US, there are pretty strict rules about how to actually mark your vote.
This was the root of much chaos in the 2000 presidential campaign and Florida's "hanging chads".
In the UK, though, the rule is only that you have to express a clear preference on the ballot.
So, like, you can literally draw a dick in a box and it counts. Probably.
5. In the UK there are strict rules which pretty much prevent broadcasters from discussing the election while polls are open.
It's a bit less strict for non-broadcasters like BuzzFeed.
BBC Election Guidelines: coverage restricted to uncontroversial factual accounts such as the weather; no coverage of election issues
BBC Breakfast pretending that the election isn't happening is the best thing. A guest just mentioned it and it was all 'swiftly moving on'.
I love TV and Radio having to pretend the General Election is not happening on General Election Day. It is the most British thing, ever.
Whereas in America on polling day, the media go completely hysterical, reporting every controversy, exit poll, and #Informed #Citizen's #Opinion.
6. In the UK, if you take a selfie (or any photo) in a voting booth you can be fined £5,000 or spend six months in jail.
In the US, the law varies from state to state.
7. Campaigns get started in the US more than a year and a half before polling day.
Road trip! Loaded the van & set off for IA. Met a great family when we stopped this afternoon. Many more to come. -H
It's 19 months till the American presidential election and Hillary Clinton is already schlepping around Iowa with random babies.
In the UK, the campaign kicked off on 30 March, and everyone's voting by 7 May. That's less than six weeks.
8. In the US, candidates are under constant scrutiny for their physical appearance and whether or not they seem "presidential".
In the UK, however...yeah, it's pretty much the same.
