I am proud to be a Canadian every day, and even more so as I watched the American election unfold. What the heck – I talked about religion last week, I might as well tackle politics this week!
Merriam-Webster defines democracy as:
- government by the people, especially: rule of the majority
- a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
To me, this should mean that you want to hear from as many people as possible in an election, right? In Canada, Elections Canada oversees the election process; they try to do just that while ensuring that it is uniform across the country.
While not perfect, throughout the process Canadians are encouraged to make our votes count. We receive voter cards in the mail and there is promotion on all media sources about what to do if you do not receive a voter card or if the information is incorrect.
The USA considers itself to be the preeminent democracy in the world. I would argue that their election practices call this claim into question.
In this election, I have learned more about the “process” of elections in the States than I ever knew before. And I have to say that knowledge has made me very proud of the democracy that is in place in Canada.
My understanding of the US Voter Registration System is that it has its basis in a historical time when only white male landowners could vote. Therefore, it was necessary to have a system that ensured only that group could access the voter booth.
Now that every citizen has the right to vote, our Canadian system makes much more sense to me. In the leadup to the election there were many stories of attempts to limit the number of voters, particularly those from different ethnic backgrounds. Shouldn’t the goal of a democracy be to hear from as many citizens as possible?
And, as we have seen, the rules differ from state to state on everything from registration, to voting by mail or in person, to counting ballots. It seems unnecessarily confusing.
Then there were the debates; I am not a fan of debates at the best of times, but these were exceptionally painful! I find it so frustrating to listen to someone tell lies as if they are truth, and I felt so sorry for the moderators as they tried to inject the truth a couple of times.
And COVID-19…there’s a global pandemic killing record numbers of Americans and the President holds an event where the virus is spread, gets it himself, is treated by the best doctors and medicines available, then goes to the American people, over 200,000 of whom have died from it, and says “don’t let it dominate your lives”. And then refuses to self-isolate, even to the point where a debate had to be cancelled because he refused to debate virtually. No wonder there is no respect for a compelling reason that people would chose to mail in ballots rather than standing in lines on election day.
The lines on election day and the misrepresentation of the validity of mail-in ballots are also things I can’t relate to. Voting is a very simple process here; and takes very little time. Reading about people waiting 3 or 4 or more hours to vote is beyond belief to me.
Especially when “poll-watchers” can be there to intimidate anyone they think doesn’t belong. In some states poll-watchers can be armed outside the buildings. And inside, in some states, they have the power to challenge someone’s right to vote, and the burden of proof is on the person being challenged. These laws are slowly being changed, but they still differ from state to state. I am grateful that Elections Canada runs our elections and there is no place for partisan politics at the polling sites.
I cried as I watched Kamala Harris and Joe Biden speak on Saturday night. It was so empowering to hear them use the word “we” and talk about being leaders for all Americans. The US is our closest neighbour so of course their “culture” comes across the border. I am hopeful that they will come together and spread more kindness in the coming days.
Both countries have work to do in important areas like systemic racism, treatment of indigenous peoples, not to mention a global pandemic, police and other social services; it would be great to feel like both countries were striving to be better for each and every one of our citizens!
