Hey Check this Out - Catherine Hudson
Research has found that the U.S. election system is less effective than other democratic countries. In 2019, the U.S. received a score of 61 out of 100 by the Electoral Integrity Project based on assessments of the quality of electoral laws, voter registration, voting process, etc. This score placed the U.S. second to last among liberal democracies.
As outlined in the article, the U.S.’s distinct election administration which is more decentralized than most could be a window into the low integrity rating. Each of the 50 different states and sometimes even the counties within a state manage their respective elections resulting in slight differences in procedure. By comparison, all Canadian elections are uniformly managed by Elections Canada and Canada had the third-highest score among countries in the Americas. Other factors differentiating the U.S. include the lack of same-day voter registration, the size of American ballots, and turnout. Head of the United States Election Project, Michael Mcdonald also adds that elections in the U.S. tend to be more legally contested than other countries and not necessarily for legitimate reasons.
The pandemic is sure to be an affecting factor in the upcoming presidential elections. Already, Mcdonald’s reports seeing an increase in the number of mail ballots, particularly by Democrats. Mail voting options have proven effective in other countries such as South Korea, however, mail ballots in the U.S. face regular rejection.
I thought this article was interesting as it compared the U.S. elections with other countries, especially the U.S.-specific mail-ballot concerns. Trump spent part of the first presidential debate arguing that there’s fraud in voting by mail. Holly Ann Garnett, an assistant professor at the Royal Military College of Canada says “The reality is that elections are only as good as they are trusted”. By discrediting voting by mail, Trump is sowing American distrust in the elections. This is concerning because if the election process is though to be rigged, then not only are faith and turnout bound to be affected but also enables Trump to challenge the results, which he has already implied he won’t fail to do.
As outlined in the article, the U.S.’s distinct election administration which is more decentralized than most could be a window into the low integrity rating. Each of the 50 different states and sometimes even the counties within a state manage their respective elections resulting in slight differences in procedure. By comparison, all Canadian elections are uniformly managed by Elections Canada and Canada had the third-highest score among countries in the Americas. Other factors differentiating the U.S. include the lack of same-day voter registration, the size of American ballots, and turnout. Head of the United States Election Project, Michael Mcdonald also adds that elections in the U.S. tend to be more legally contested than other countries and not necessarily for legitimate reasons.
The pandemic is sure to be an affecting factor in the upcoming presidential elections. Already, Mcdonald’s reports seeing an increase in the number of mail ballots, particularly by Democrats. Mail voting options have proven effective in other countries such as South Korea, however, mail ballots in the U.S. face regular rejection.
I thought this article was interesting as it compared the U.S. elections with other countries, especially the U.S.-specific mail-ballot concerns. Trump spent part of the first presidential debate arguing that there’s fraud in voting by mail. Holly Ann Garnett, an assistant professor at the Royal Military College of Canada says “The reality is that elections are only as good as they are trusted”. By discrediting voting by mail, Trump is sowing American distrust in the elections. This is concerning because if the election process is though to be rigged, then not only are faith and turnout bound to be affected but also enables Trump to challenge the results, which he has already implied he won’t fail to do.
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