Posted on 11/12/2018 6:09:52 PM PST by Randall_S
Another November, another Election Day debacle. Leave it to the State of Florida to once again (think Bush v. Gore) expose the severe shortcomings of the American election system. Though, to be fair, it isn’t only Florida; Arizona and Georgia are also in the proverbial “big soup” this time around.
The point of this article is not to systematically condemn the American election system, nor detail its deficiencies. As any observer is painfully aware, there are legal, partisan, and political reasons why the system remains – basically – broken. Nor shall we evaluate any contemporary claims of voter fraud; for these arguments will be lost and won by an army of lawyers, sent from D.C. to the states which have bungled yet another political election.
For the sake of both completeness and brevity, listed below are some broad complicating factors of the U.S. electoral system:
- Generally speaking, states establish their own election laws – subject to Federal oversight – essentially creating fifty different regimes, each with their own idiosyncrasies and complications.
- Gerrymandering, which allows the creation of customized electoral districts to the benefit of one party or the other.
- Voter participation in the United States rarely exceeds 50-55%%, which is amongst the lowest in the so-called developed world. Therefore, approximately just 26-28% of eligible voters determine the direction of the entire country.
- Electoral College: In Presidential elections, electors (not voters) ultimately decide who wins the office. This is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Wow!
Rather than focus on the various problems, we seek here to present examples from other countries where the election systems do work, for context and fermentation of ideas domestically.
A Look around the World
Australia
- Population: 24.6 million
- Voter participation: Greater than 90%
- Nota Bene: Voting has been compulsory since 1924. Non-voting results in a fine, and elections are typically held on Saturdays. Voters are not required to present identification.
Brazil
- Population: 209.3 million
- Voter participation: 79.54% (2016)
- Nota Bene: Compulsory voting for all “literate” citizens between the ages of 18-70 years old, dating back to 1932. Consequences of non-voting include exclusion from government funds, and potentially being prohibited from obtaining a passport. Identification is required and voting is entirely electronic.
France
- Population: 67.12 million
- Voter participation: 67.9% (2017)
- Nota Bene: France is one of the most centralized countries, administratively, in the world. Voters use paper ballots and are required to show identification. Presidential elections are every five years, and it is typically a two-round process, assuming that no candidate receives more than 50% in the first round.
Germany
- Population: 82.79 million
- Voter participation: 76.2% (2017)
- Nota Bene: Germany has a two vote system, in which votes are cast for both candidates and for party (for representative purposes in the Bundestag (i.e., federal parliament). Elections are managed by the Ministry of Interior which sets forth regulations, which includes presenting identification. There are election management bodies, primarily the Federal Returning Officer, who is appointed by the Ministry of Interior.
Italy
- Population: 60.59 million
- Voter participation: ~73% (2018)
- Nota Bene: Italy has a “parallel” voting system, in which 37% of seats are allocated by “first past the post,” and the remaining 63% are allocated proportionately. On a paper ballot, the voter can cast his ballot in three different ways: basically, different combinations of candidates and parties. Voter identification at the polling station is required. Representatives of the two leading parties then decide how to form the coalition. Finally, the Italian President first validates the proposed coalition, and secondly the list of ministers, to form the government. The President is an unelected official who, with respect to the formation of a government, is somewhat comparable to the power of the Queen of England.
Israel
- Population: 8.71 million
- Voter participation: 72.36% (2015)
- Nota Bene: Voters in Israel vote for a party, not the candidate. The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, is proportionally representative of the votes cast. Voters present their national identification card, complete a ballot, place it in an envelope, and slip it into a blue ballot box.
Japan
- Population: 120.8 million
- Voter participation: 53.83% (2017)
- Nota Bene: Japan’s voter participation rate is on-par with the United States’. Voters must present voter cards. Ballots are completed by writing in the candidate’s name. Elections for the House of Representatives involve two votes: one for the district candidate, and one for the party. Electronic voting first occurred in 2002, and early voting was introduced in 2003.
United Kingdom
- Population: 66.02 million
- Voter participation: 68.8% (2017) ; 72.21% (“Brexit” referendum, 2016)
- Nota Bene: Registered voters can vote either in person, by post, or by proxy. Except in Northern Ireland, it is not required to show identification. Voters complete a paper ballot and drop it into a ballot box. Follow the close of polls (10 pm), the ballot box is immediately taken to a central counting location.
Conclusions
With the notable exceptions of Australia and the United Kingdom (two English-speaking countries), each one of the above countries requires a form of identification to be presented by the voter. With the exception Japan, voter turnout is significantly higher in these countries than in the United States (25-35%). Countries with compulsory voting – Australia and Brazil – unsurprisingly have the highest voter participation – 90% and 79% respectively.
Furthermore, the authors searched for recent examples of voter fraud in these countries, and were unable to find any eminent instances. Unlike the United States, which has had multiple prominent election problems that have made international news, a comparable example among the countries analyzed cannot be readily identified. Indeed, a U.S. level of election shenanigans seems to be reserved for what we typically call a “banana republic.”
A Divided Country, Embarrassed on the World Stage
Ever since the Greeks invented democracy in ancient times, societies have been voting. From a technological standpoint, it is a very basic procedure. Even Iraq, practically ravished by wars since the 1980s, votes using a straightforward and understandable process: ink on the index finger identifies each one who has cast a vote.
Not only do contested and contentious elections further exacerbate an already divided country, but they are a black mark on the reputation of the United States on the international scene. Allegedly the leading country in the world today, it is almost impossible, for our allies and foes alike, to comprehend how we cannot even master a task so simple as a routine election.
Perhaps instead of sending two opposing battalions of lawyers to litigate the vote counting, it is time for meaningful reform that addresses both voter participation and the integrity of each and every vote.
Lessons?! Yeah, the lesson here is The RATS ALWAYS win when cheating and recounts..ALWAYS!! Never held accountable so they keep doing it while the republicans just bend over and enjoy taking it every single time!
Election fraud has a long, time honored, tradition in America. Vote buying, ballot box stuffing, and voter suppression. Now compounded into a crisis by technology and illegals.
Unfortunately, given the insatiable quest for power in America, I see no easy answer.
Democrats cannot be trusted for any kind of Government position, especially counting votes in several states.
The midterms were corrupted and their appears to be no law enforcement or integrity with the accountability of the Votes.
Ping.
Good material for Friday distribution.
Lesson learned a long time ago: there are Americans, all the way from the average person up to the highest public officials, who have no respect for the fundamental citizenship right of other Americans, and have no commitment to “the consent of the governed” or a fairly-elected republican form of government. Their only interest is in making sure their side wins, no matter what they have to do. If it takes people voting more than once, or people voting from the grave, or non-citizens voting, or fake ballots and stuffed ballot boxes, so be it.
The ballot counting would not have been delayed so long but the trucks carrying them had mechanical problems on the way to Florida from Chicago.
I’m generally against compulsory anything, but it seems reasonable to me that you should vote if you want to receive government benefits. Of course, many receiving benefits are democrats (as Mitt Romney pointed out) so this might be counterproductive...
Store the retinal scans on secure servers (!), and assign each a bar code that must match the Voter ID card bar code.
If the voter shows up on Election Day, rescan voter's retina before letting the voter in. If it's a match, OK, voter votes. If no match, person must be turned away. No provisional ballot crap.
No early voting, no mail-in voting. No ID, no vote.
No signatures needed.
Voting procedure: paper ballots only. Ballot must be immediately recordable, verifiable, and have a paper trail.
Once voter is out of the booth, that's it. The vote must be machine-scanned and counted at that time only, only once, at that precinct. If they can build a chute or dumbwaiter to transfer the ballot from each voting booth directly to the scanner (with no humans monkeying around with the ballot), so much the better.
Voter must have a purple finger, or whatever works to show that the person voted, BEFORE leaving the precinct.
Ballots must NOT leave the precinct until all have been scanned, and the number of ballots verified to match the number of voters who showed up that day.
Counties add up all of their precincts' votes. Leaking any subtotals ahead of time shall be a crime. Muck the fedia.
States add up all counties' sums. Leaking any subtotals ahead of time shall be a crime. Muck the fedia.
Each state's total votes shall be announced by noon the following day, by each Secretary of State. These are final and certified. No bullcrap with 'lost or found ballots' allowed.
Exceptions may be made for those with no retinae, or those who can prove they are physically unable to reach the voting location. However, their ballots must be received by express courier before the poll-closing deadline.
SHUT DOWN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
You have my respect and appreciation.
But you must also see that the vast majority of women aren’t and cannot be you.
My thoughts on this issue are collective, not individual; and as a right-thinking strong conservative woman I’m sure you can see the math just doesn’t work to your advantage.
Oh come on, would the USA really want to lump itself in with Saudi Arabia when it came to women’s rights?
This author seems to think voter participation is an important metric. Unfortunately I believe that the US participation numbers are low because they use either total US population or total register voters as the denominator. The US has a significant number of people who are not eligible to vote for various reasons, and our voter rolls are a mess with many people registered in multiple states (vast majority of which only vote in one), along with a lot of people on the rolls who are no longer resident in the precinct they are registered in (dead or moved).
I suspect that if proper numbers were actually to be determined the US participation rate would be between 60 and 70%
Perhaps public schools have a lot to do with the dumbing down of ALL citizenry and only the females are showing up on your radar because natural association of sexes (not genders) guides us ALL in a little bit of a different direction.
No. If that’s what I’d meant, that’s what I’d have said.
Lessons Taken from the Recent U.S. Election Mess
The lessons are clear. The Democrat party has become the following:
Operate from the gutter. Destroy, Destroy.
Lie daily because it is part and parcel of their DNA.
They as a group are not worth the space they take up.
They are as corrupt or more then the Organized Crime we all know of.
The destruction of them is the only way to save America. Because it is so close to being lost right now.
"Perhaps public schools have a lot to do with the dumbing down of ALL citizenry and only the females are showing up on your radar because natural association of sexes (not genders) guides us ALL in a little bit of a different direction.
yup ... that too.
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