"rent Elections Canada"

[donsu]

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/mailbag/539


Subject: American Elections

Now I know from the get go that you Americans don't care squat what anyone outside the USA thinks, especially a darned Canadian, but here goes ...

You guys are doomed. Your system of electing a federal government is insane, inane, arcane and archaic. The robber barons decide who gets to run and the county bosses decide who gets to vote. There is no "one person, one vote." The individual's vote gets lost in primaries, caucuses and eventually superseded by the Electoral College or the Supreme Court.

Doesn't every American citizen old enough to vote have the right to vote? In this age of databases, I'm pretty sure you guys have a list of all those entitled to vote.

In Canada we have Elections Canada. It's an independent entity of civil servants that is responsible for running our elections. There are no politics involved, you're either a citizen or you're not a citizen. The people who count the votes are hired for that day only. The ballots have the candidate's name and party and a little circle on each line. (To put your X in, it's not really rocket science making an X). The polling clerks count the votes. It takes about an hour. The guy with the most votes wins a seat in the House of Commons.

The party with the most votes wins the right to govern. The leader of that party (if he wins the seat in his riding) becomes the Prime Minister.

We don't have no stinkin' President. America don't need no stinkin' President. Get a glove and get in the Democracy Game. Better yey, rent Elections Canada while you guys still have some spare cash.

Tom Coombs
Kaslo BC Canada
----------------------------


we wish

[LakeSamish706]

1. And something missing there, is enough of this two party system crap...

In Canada we have 4 Federal parties and that makes it possible to have what is known as a Minority Government and it works very well IMO.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

4. In the us any group that can get 5% of the vote can be a regonised party

If we have a two party system its our own damn fault..

There is a reason the reform party was so recognized in 1996 and 2000 because in 1992 they got 20 some odd percent of the vote. IF the American people wanted a minority govt all they would have to do is elect 10 senators from third parties (yes we have them)

[canoeist52]

2. "Help, we're being repressed!"

What a sane system! Maybe we could ask your country for an invasion to support our bid for fair election and to resyore ouf failing democracy. "Help, we're being repressed!" (Monty Python)

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

5. Were not a democracy

Never were and are thus not a failing democracy... If any failing is happening its because citizens are over dedicated to two parties..

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

3. Sigh...

"You guys are doomed. Your system of electing a federal government is insane, inane, arcane and archaic. The robber barons decide who gets to run and the county bosses decide who gets to vote. There is no "one person, one vote." The individual's vote gets lost in primaries, caucuses and eventually superseded by the Electoral College or the Supreme Court."

Firstly the President is not 'the federal government' Congressmen and Senators are elected by popular vote. So when it comes to what laws are mad it is one person one vote.

"Doesn't every American citizen old enough to vote have the right to vote?"

You need to understand the US is a Federal Republic *not* a democracy. I don't say that to pick a nit but straight Democracy is not the only way to go and before you go jumping over how broken something is maybe you should understand it in the first place. I can say you car is crap its not no wheels but if I'm talking about your boat, well, id be talking out of my butt about your car wouldn't I?

So every American over the age of 18 is entitled to vote but states can set *some* restrictions (which can of course be appealed to the SC). Some of these have to do with those who commit violent crimes.

States also set their own process for everything from how votes are tallied (electronic / paper) to how Electors are divided up (Nebraska and Main have the best systems imho) this happens because we are a federation of states.

[JBoy]

7. "States also set their own process for everything"

I think this is one of the main points the author was making, who I believe does understand how you do it. His point is that it's f-ed up, and I agree.

Just look at the 2000 election and what happened in Florida. What kind of democracy (and yes, the US is a democracy - a representative democracy) allows a partisan politician (Katherine Harris) to preside over the recount of votes? That's nuts.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

10. Fla 2K is a bad example

Any system can be rigged by those in power.

"What kind of democracy (and yes, the US is a democracy - a representative democracy)"

No were not we are a constitutional representative republic.. The constitution clearly lays out a *republic* not a democracy

From "http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/aspects/demrep.html"

The chief characteristic and distinguishing feature of a Democracy is: Rule by Omnipotent Majority. In a Democracy, The Individual, and any group of Individuals composing any Minority, have no protection against the unlimited power of The Majority. It is a case of Majority-over-Man.

A Republic, on the other hand, has a very different purpose and an entirely different form, or system, of government. Its purpose is to control The Majority strictly, as well as all others among the people, primarily to protect The Individual’s God-given, unalienable rights and therefore for the protection of the rights of The Minority, of all minorities, and the liberties of people in general. The definition of a Republic is: a constitutionally limited government of the representative type, created by a written Constitution--adopted by the people and changeable (from its original meaning) by them only by its amendment--with its powers divided between three separate Branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Here the term "the people" means, of course, the electorate.

--

"allows a partisan politician (Katherine Harris) to preside over the recount of votes?"

I agree but thats neither her nor there in terms of what kind of govt we are and the rules it functions by. It would be very easy under our constitutional system for a state like FLA to say WTF we should not have a partisan official do this.

[CK_John]

6. Maybe because the population of Canada is only about 30 million. n/t

[JBoy]

8. So, why wouldn't that work for 300 million?

Seems to me you'd get some real economies of scale.

[CK_John]

9. Their are over 50,000 voting units in the US, controled by 50 states and not one

will give up their piece of the action. Never.

All politics is local.

[LakeSamish706]

12. And it's up to the people to bring about change and if they are unwilling to...

stand up for true Democracy then you really are screwed... Bottom line.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

13. True Democracy is not the only way, sorry..

[JBoy]

14. Whatever

You seem way too hung up on terminology - Republic, Democracy, call it whatever you want.

The point being made, and I agree, is that the system of government(s) in the US has created an electoral system that is dysfunctional. And Florida 2000 is a perfect example. I am confident such a situation could not occur in Canada.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

18. Its not terminology

they are words and they have a somewhat specific meaning...

[Bill McBlueState]

11. we've got history to contend with

The US Constitution was one of the first places anyone had tried to codify a federal government in great detail. It's full of compromises that were adopted not because they were fair, but because they satisfied everyone at the table. A lot of the framers were afraid of democracy that was *too* direct, and there was also a need to satisfy people from small states. So we get concepts that are contrary to the principle of "one person, one vote" like the Electoral College, the Senate, and the Three-fifths Clause. (At least we had the sense to ditch that last idea.)

Thing is, people have had time to think about these things since 1787. If we weren't so proud of our own history that we failed to appreciate the innovations of others, we could fix a lot of our electoral problems.

[JBoy]

15. I think your exactly right.

Good luck on the repairs. ;-)

[tom_paine]

16. Good luck resisting Virtual Anschluss. You think we are going to leave a Free Canada on our borders

for very long, especially once the Bushies get down to brass tacks and really start shoring up their tyranny with some direct actions (probably following a good shock to the spine, as it were, like another 9/11 or economic calamity)?

You think a totalitarian nation like Imperial Amerika, once it gets to it's Penultimate and Final Solutions, maybe a couple decades from now, will be able to tolerate a Free Canada, serving as a beacon of freedom to we behind the Televised Iron Curtain of Amerika?

No way. And if you research it, you will find that Virtual Anschluss has already begun with a number of predatory treaties and other actions. Look it up.

Canadians can feel smug now, they have a right. Just as we Americans felkt smug looking at the Russians in the 70s, never dreaming that shortly after they fell, we would become more like them every year.

But don't be so smug you get Bushed (or would that be Harpered?) and turn out like us.

You think it could never happen there, but that's what we thought back in the 70s when we pitied the Russian, helpless before their lying tyrants.

Now, in so many ways, we ARE the Russians of the 1970s.

[cgrindley]

17. I already tried this line of reasoning... but they hate our voter ID cards

you should have seen them flame me. I don't think I even told them that the voter lists are automatically generated through income tax returns. I think that would have sent these Americans into orbit.