turnout rate of countries

7/30/2019 Turnout Rate of Countries

1/5

Katherine Rodriguez

AP Government

British Electoral Rules Compared to United States Electoral Rules

The British system of elections is a parliamentary system. As a matter of fact, the British

Parliament at Westminster is called the Mother of Parliaments. Like the American system there

are two houses. Their difference is that of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The

House of Commons is the critical player in the British electoral system. Each Member of

Parliament represents his local constituency. These constituencies are established to ensure

equitable representation in Parliament. Voters in Britain vote for their member of parliament.

They do not vote specifically for the Prime Minister. In the Presidential system of the US the

President is both the head of state and the head of government. He is elected, indirectly through

the Electoral College but this is far more directly than in the British system. The American

system and the British system do have one significant factor in common. In both, the results are

calculated as winner take all or first past the post. The British and U.S. models have resulted

conversely in traditionally two party systems.

France compared to USA.

Because France uses a run off system, multiple parties can run candidates without the

fear that a divided field will inherently favor even any unpopular incumbent. Theres less worry

that simply having more parties running on one side of the political spectrum will inherently

cost them the election. France doesnt have multiple viable political parties simply because the

French people have greater diversity of views, any more than most Americans are simply happy

with just two parties. France has more parties because they have election laws that allow for a

diversity of choices to have a chance of winning. In contrast, in America the Democrats and

Republicans have worked together to write our election laws to try to prevent any otherpolitical parties from competing against them.

Walker, John. The French Election and Why America Doesnt Have More Parties. N.p.: FDL,2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. .

The process of electing candidates at the state level is done in three steps. They arethe Primaries and Caucuses, National Conventions and General (or Popular)

Election. The delegates are chosen at local caucuses and later narrowed at districtconventions. The candidates of the two major parties are finalized only at the state

conventions. The delegates representing each state go to national conventionswhich is is the final step. At the national conventions, the respective parties

officially announce their candidates and the process of general election begins.


2/5

Katherine Rodriguez

AP Government

N.p.: Online Educational Resource Collection, Comparison of US Presidentialelection between Indias Lok sabha electionWeb. 25 Jan. 2013.http://www.eduresourcecollection.com/projects_lelection.php

Mexicos electoral rules compared to the United States.

The Mexican electoral system is much fairer, professional, independent and non-partisan than the U.S.

system. Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) is a nonpartisan, professional institution in which political party

representatives have access but no control. IFE manages a nation-wide system with uniform rules. IFE actively

registers about 95% of 77 million eligible voters and gives each a biometric, photo ID card, which Mexicans use as a

primary identification. The registration list is audited regularly, and the photos of the voters are on the list in each

polling site. Each of Mexico's main political parties receives approximately $24 million of public financing for athree-month campaign. They can also receive 10% of their funds from supporters, but no one can give more than

$71,000. IFE pays for media advertising, and makes sure that the candidates have equal access. IFE also tries to

discourage any negative advertising. Since its revolution, Mexico's constitution prohibits re-election in order to

prevent responsibility from using government to manipulate the electoral process. IFE goes even further by trying

to prevent the president from even campaigning in the most indirect way for his party's candidates. A way we can

see that Mexico has commitment is that Mexico's IFE spends roughly 10 times more per capita than the United

States to manage a state-of-the-art electoral process.

Mascari, Nick. MEXICO'S ELECTORAL SYSTEM BETTER THAN AMERICA'S . N.p.: Breibart, 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.

.

The U.S. could and should establish an independentnational nonpartisan event, election, organization or person

in which there is no formally declared association withpolitical affiliation, election with a national biometric ID, asingle national registration list, restrictions list, restrictions
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3/5

Katherine Rodriguez

AP Government

on private funding, public financing for short campaigns,poll workers that are recruited by lot and well trained,

disincentives for negative advertising, independent electoral

courts, and international and domestic observers.Heuvel, Katrina.America Needs Electoral Reform. N.p.: The Nation, 2008. Web. 25 Jan. 2013.

.

U.S. states and communities passively register about 55% of eligible voters, and the lists are

flawed with many duplicates and errors, especially between states and counties. Each state has

different rules, and in states where Republicans have a majority, their focus on preventing

electoral fraud has led them to restrict registration and require IDs, while Democrats are moreconcerned about voters' access and believe the Republican ID laws are aimed to suppress voter

turnout from poor people or minorities.

Suggestions for reforms of U.S. Electoral rules

1. Nonpartisan election administration. The United States has 13,000 counties andmunicipalities that manage our national elections with different rules and less capacity.

Partisan officials generally control the process, and in a close election, the opposition is

often suspicious of the result.

2. Registration and identification of voters. The IFE actively registers about 95% of 77million eligible voters and gives each a biometric, photo ID card, which Mexicans use as

a primary identification. The registration list is audited regularly, and the photos of the

voters are on the list in each polling site. Its a technique that the United States should

follow.

3. Poll workers. U.S. election officials were asked about the criteria for choosing pollworkers, election officials said: "I'll take anyone with a pulse." Most poll workers are

very senior citizens without the kind of stamina necessary to manage a polling station for

12 hours, and in most cases, they are poorly trained as compared to other countries

counterparts.

4. Equitable access to the media/negative advertising. A substantial amount of the $6billion raised by the candidates in the United States goes for media advertising, and a

recent study showed that 70 percent of ads in this years presidential contest have been

negative. Therefore the media should be limited more.

5. Observers. Having observers from different countries can give advice to the UnitedStates.
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4/5

Katherine Rodriguez

AP Government

6. Judging disputes The United States has few laws and no court with the expertise tosettle such disputes.

Pastor, Robert A. 8 things the U.S. election system could learn from Mexico's. N.p.: CNN, 2012.

Web. 24 Jan. 2013. .

Turnout rate

Country Year Turnout Rate

United States 2010 41.59%

Mexico 2012 62.45%

Germany 2009 70.78%

Honduras 2009 50.05%

France 2010 59.98%

Egypt 2012 62.04%

Brazil 2012 81.88%

Russian Federation 2012 65.27%

Canada 2011 61.41%El Salvador 2009 70.78%

Italy 2008 80.54%

United Kingdom 2010 65.77%

Spain 2011 68.94%

Japan 2009 69.27%

India 2009 58.19&

Pakistan 2008 44.55%Source: International IDEA

Brazil, France, Indonesia, Poland, Russia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have

been using the electronic ID and will be used by everyone that will replace

conventional identity cards. With the issuance of these cards, these nations

will be able to streamline voter registration.


5/5

Katherine Rodriguez

AP Government

King, Charles. Electoral System. N.p.: Georgetown Univeristy, 2000. Web. 24

Jan. 2013.

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turnout rate of countries

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