November 4th: an important day

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, is an historic date for America and the world. The long campaign is over and now the citizens of the United States finally go to the polls to elect a new President. It's a big decision. Those of us on the outside looking in wish the electorate and the country well.

At a conference today, I heard a presentation by Dr. Daniel Franklin, executive editor of The Economist magazine, in which he outlined how the world is dependent, to one degree or another, on the outcome of the election. The magazine asked itself: what if the entire globe could vote in the U.S. election? What would the preference be?

You can see the results of The Economist's experiment here.  (Hint: congratulations to McCain for winning Cuba and Algeria, but not much else).

It's been an exhausting campaign, so let us close with some historical quotes from key players in America's early days:

Essayist Thomas Paine: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

Multi-talented Benjamin Franklin gives us a nice closing : "Fatigue is the best pillow."  

Yes, indeed.

Notes:  

1. Quotes are from www.brainyquote.com

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The American presidential election -- a complex machine, running since 1789 (...without an oil change).

The winds of change are beginning to sweep across the American political landscape. For those of us living outside the United States, the 2008 election is an interesting opportunity to observe the American electoral system and compare it to that of other democracies (like the French republican or the British parliamentary system, for example).

All of the attention being given to state caucuses or primaries was never something I clearly understood until I realized the importance of what Americans call "electors." At first I didn't comprehend the difference between "electors" and typical "voters". In Canada, we tend to use the term interchangeably. However, the difference in the U.S. is crucial. That's because the president and the vice-president are the only elected federal officials that are not elected by direct popular vote. Instead, they are put into office by the Electoral College, which is made up of citizens and party representatives -- "electors" -- chosen state-by-state during the long and arduous campaign.

History.com, in remembrance of the first American presidential election that brought George Washington to power, today posted a good summary (Jan. 7) of how the system works.

At the end of the campaign "marathon," after the big national election day in November and the results of the popular vote have been recorded, then the official electors meet in each state and cast their votes in representation of the voting public in their state.

History.com writes,"Although electors aren't constitutionally mandated to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, it is demanded by tradition and required by law in 26 states and the District of Columbia (in some states, violating this rule is punishable by a $1,000 fine). Historically, over 99 per cent of all electors have cast their ballots in line with the voters."

The American system has been followed faithfully since 1789, as set out in the U.S. Constitution. Many debate the merits or weaknesses of this system. Is it antiquated? Is it fair? You can decide for yourself. As for me, I find it interesting to follow.

The Boston Globe recently published a handy guide to the caucuses and primaries, including comments on what is happening in each state and a draft schedule. Did you know that Republicans in Hawaii hold neither a primary nor a caucus? The Globe's special section is available here.

My thanks to Steve Woods in the U.K. for his photograph of the voting boxes with pencil and to Mike Thorn in the U.S. for his photograph of the White House.

Related political post....
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