The United States has been in the election mode for at least one year trying to pick its president. In the meantime, a general election was called in Canada. Both elections will determine which party will run the respective country and both will be held in the relative spirit of democracy. However, the similarities end there. With all the controversy, expenses and showboating that we observe in the United States, Canadian elections offer a great Existing Alternative and an example of how a general election can be done. Here are some of the lessons to consider.
Canadian general federal elections last for now more than 40 days (it’s a law!). And all the campaigning is limited to that timespan. Last Canadian election cost just over $200 mln or $6 per person (including the cost of counting all eligible voters). By comparison, each Republican and Democratic conventions cost $20 mln. And yes, we are only talking about taxpayers’ costs not funds raised. Provided that in Canada majority party in Parliament gets to form a government, there is needed only one general election. The number of major parties is five: Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Bloc Quebecois, and Green, and yes, they all are allowed to participate in debates. And yes, all parties who run candidates are allowed on a ballot. Word like "Conservative" and "Liberal" are actual party names, not bickering labels. Instead of complicated touch-screen, pull-lever, butterfly ballots, Canadians use single piece of paper and mark X on it with a pencil. Oh yeah, there are no booths, curtains, or scanners, but rather carbon-box stands and boxes made from 100% post-consumer materials. In Canada the election results are available in less then an hour after the last poll is closed, because all they need to do is … count the ballots – no hanging chads or rebooting Diebolds here.
So yeah, there are easier, cheaper and faster
Existing Alternatives in running the democratic process!
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