Fair Voting what the US could learn.

The United States could learn from the Canadian election system. In Canada Federal elections are run by Elections Canada an independent body that decides on changes to the composition of ridings, how ballots are handled, identification required at the polls, campaign financing rules etc. Elections Canada is non-partisan and reports to Parliament. The Head and Deputy Head of Elections Canada cannot vote or be a member of a political party and are generally well regarded for their neutrality.

The US has a number of problems with its voting system. Here are some of the main ones:

1. Gerrymandering. This is reconfiguring the districts of Congressmen so that (usually) incumbents or particular individuals have a better chance of being re-elected. Basically Republican and Democrats fight over new boundaries based on changes to the recent census data and try to protect candidates of their own party by using the latest demographic data combined with proprietary voting info held by the party. This is an insipid problem that stops new ideas from coming into the system and is fundamentally undemocratic. This is not permitted in Canada due to the creation of Elections Canada (although the Conservatives did play around with the number of seats that should be allocated to Ontario). For a fun video game to understand the problem visit:

http://www.redistrictinggame.org/ (its a kind of fun game and you learn!)

2. Electoral lists and registration. This is handled at the state level. Each state has different rules about registration. In some cases Republicans or Democrats manipulate this system to try to strike some people from the registration list. In addition there are often cut offs as to when people can register to vote which are well before the election this discourages many disenfranchised groups from voting. While Canada has a registered voters list anyone can show up to vote on the day if they have proper ID or if they don't have ID they can vote with an oath and an individual who will certify they live in the riding. Fundamentally all citizens have a right to vote and this should be protected and not used for partisan purposes or made difficult and cumbersome. While complaints of voter fraud are found in some countries the evidence does not suggest it is widespread or at all common in Canada, the US or other western democracies. If there really is a concern about voter fraud the US can use the semi-permanent ink solution to stop people voting more than once.

3. Ballots. Each state (and in some cases individual districts) have different balloting systems. Some use highly suspect electronic balloting that the security and fairness of these systems has come into question. Some states still use the chad system which created all the debate in Florida. Personally I prefer the standard paper ballot. This has been used with great success around the world. It is also used in Canada easy to count lower error rate etc. The use of different ballots in different districts also creates a tendancy for individuals to try to design them in their party's favour.

4. No independent voting commission or commissioner. A few states have independent voting commissioners (or equivalent) but in many states the position is a political appointment (often made by the governor). Naturally this means the head of the commission is a member or supporter of a political party (Democrat or Republican). While in many cases these individuals do act in a fair, judicious, and professional manner the fact that their appointment is partisan always raises questions as to whether they are acting fairly. To paraphrase it is not enough for election decisions to be fair but they must be seen to be fair.

5. A politicized voting process. A general philosophical difference in Canada and the US is that voting can be politicized or used to improve the chances of one party over another. This should not be the thinking of politicians or their handlers. For individuals to have faith in the democratic system they should be believe that the system is not prone to manipulation. If individuals feel that the voting system is prone to manipulation they will be more likely to believe their vote does not matter.

Okay now my reader is asking how can the US reform its voting system, isn't this a state issue in the US? Well yes but the Federal government could set up standards as well as a Federal Voting Commission (entirely non-partisan) and allocate money for states that live up to those standards and use the Federal Commission. Similar to the way the US Federal government encouraged/forced many states to adopt a drinking age of 21.

The problems with the US voting system listed above lead to; lower voter turn out (while Canada is not great it is much better than the US), greater disenfranchisement, aggravates the racial tensions in the US, and creates a general lack of faith in the political system.

I sometimes find it surprising that the US sends representatives overseas to help with foreign elections given what a mess the voting system is in the US.