“…One country under God, indivisible…”
Well that’s fine, and all well and good until it comes to the time to elect a new President of these “United States of America“, or from what I can tell any elected official representative of the people.
Why is this so? It seems that when it comes to elections a person is no longer an American but a New Yorker, Texan, Californian, Hoosier, Swamp Yankee or Tar Cracker or any other demonym that you can think of for all the states that are united in name; it’s ridiculous.
Each state has a different election procedure or protocol and whether any two states have the same I don’t know, I’d be very surprised if any two were identical. And this makes the system laughable.
All American citizens are not equal when it come down to voting for their representatives; and it’s their own fault. Each state considers itself or it’s neighbours; better/worse, richer/poorer, wiser/dumber.
Why is there not one governing Electoral Commission as there is in Australia, that controls all elections both state and federal? In Australia my vote has the same value here in Sydney as does the vote of an Aborigine in outback Australia, we’ll be voting for different contestants naturally but our votes are equal and the EC makes sure that they are kept that way.
When an Australian citizen or anybody that has been granted permanent residency reaches the age of 18 they must register with the Electoral Commission to vote. No ” if’s or but’s “. The EC allocate them to an electoral roll based on their place of residency and if and when they move the EC must be notified and their names are placed on a new roll and when it comes to an election whether federal, state or local you get out there and vote.
It’s compulsory and if you don’t have a good reason for not voting then the EC fine you and in my opinion that is how it should be.
Voting is not only a right that has been fought for and won but an obligation on and to you, for your family your friends and your country and I think the sooner that something along these lines is adopted by the people of the U.S. the better. As it is in the U.S. currently, it encourages selfishness, apathy and a distinct disregard for ones fellow citizens and country which Americans always seem to be promoting. It’s a case of ‘if it doesn’t suit me why should I care or bother whatever happens ‘ .
The state of Florida is a prime example of this; one state elected official has, I believe, complete control over the voting rights and systems used by the citizens in that state. He/she can virtually throw out any votes that he/she doesn’t like, arrange the counting to suit the candidate he/she fancies and hold up the results of a general election on a whim!
Why is this allowed? They might just as well tell this person to select whoever they like and do away with elections instead of turning them into a world class farce. And save a fortune.
America needs an Independent Electoral Commission free of any interference by governments, funded by both the state and federal governments to oversee all elections so that all Americans eligible to vote, have equal right and value in the vote they cast. Is this too much to ask?
The answer will of course be “Yes”, not the no it rightly deserves, because of some archaic belief in states rights:
“…with liberty and justice for all”
It really is quite a joke; but who’s laughing? I’m not!
LordBeariOfBow 