“American Exceptionalism”. We think we are special and the best. America IS a wonderful place. But it has a lot of work to do if it wants to catch up with other nations with regard to healthcare, housing, education, retirement and yes…democracy.
So many of our national challenges could be better met if we surveyed the well run systems of other nations.
The US is proudly a nation of successful businesses. And every smart business person I have encountered looked around at his/her industry, copied good ideas and then attempted to improve on them. That is part of the “business 101” I was trained in decades ago.
Today’s letter is about democracy’s essential tool: voting. Do you think there will be a high turnout in 2024? I think there is “energy” out there that suggests yes. But I also worry about a lack of youthful participation. This research from Tufts offers encouragement and despair.
This NY Times opinion piece (paywall bypassed) is about the missing Constitutional Amendment that would provide a universal right to vote. I found this inspiration within the comments section. I suspect that the commenter wouldn’t mind having his views spread more widely. Feel free to scroll right down to the 7 ways Australia has a better democracy.
David Sciascia
Sydney Australia Jan. 16
After returning to Australia after 20 years working in the USA my friends ask me, “Why are Americans so dumb that they continue to support Trump, or, don’t ban semi automatic weapons, or restrict access to abortion, or don’t support a move to universal healthcare?“ I have to remind them that most Americans are no more dumb than the average Australian, in fact large majorities of Americans all over the country would support these reforms. But the structural and political roadblocks in America's electoral system prevent those reforms ever seeing the light of day. I’ve come to believe that it’s pure luck that our constitution was drawn up in the early C20th and amended well before the 1990s to include critical electoral safeguards, because I don’t think constitutional amendments would be possible in today’s polarised environment.
Australia's electoral safeguards:
1. An Electoral Commission that runs our state and federal elections, draws up our electoral districts
2. Automatic voter registration (when someone turns 18) with names held on a national database
3. Elections are held on a Saturday so the whole community can turn out with their families to vote. (Which is compulsory anyway)
4. A preferential or ranked choice voting system (similar to the one adopted by Alaska last year. (Already in place in Maine and moving forward in Massachusetts.)
5. A far more democratically representative senate
6. Term limits on High Court Judge appointments (our SCOTUS)
7. Strict limits on political ad spending
How could anyone object to any of these seven concepts?
From the Australian government website:
”If you have received a notice for not voting at a federal election, by-election or referendum and wish to pay the $20 administrative penalty, you can do so online using the Government EasyPay service.”
IMO, not much of a penalty. But it sets the tone, doesn’t it?
Voting in America should be easy, safe and compulsory (see #3). One could check the box that says “none of the above” or write in Taylor Swift. But at least we would know the voter thought about their obligation as a citizen for a few minutes.
Read further if you are interested in the status of voter participation in the US compared to other nations.
From the Pew Research Center:
”More than 158.4 million people voted in that election (2020), according to a Pew Research Center tabulation of official state returns, amounting to 62.8% of people of voting age, using Census Bureau estimates of the 2020 voting-age population.
The 2020 voting surge followed unusually high turnout in the 2018 midterm elections, when about 47.5% of the voting-age population – and 51.8% of voting-age citizens – went to the polls.”
"U.S. voting-age population turnout is still behind many other countries despite its recent rise, though registered-voter turnout is remarkably higher.”
That’s not good enough for me. How about you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/opinion/voting-rights-constitution-28th-amendment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PE0.oQ-F.iKs5FwJ7Q7aN&smid=url-share
https://circle.tufts.edu/2024-election-youth-poll
https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/rankedchoicefaq.html
https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/non-voters.htm
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/01/turnout-in-u-s-has-soared-in-recent-elections-but-by-some-measures-still-trails-that-of-many-other-countries/
Really good one Bill. This is the first I'd heard about the $20 fine for not voting in Australia, the idea of compulsory voting has always put me off, but it makes sense with that addition.
Like you, I support all of the reforms you mention, but the entrenched political infrastructure would never stand for losing their positions of privileges. It will take another revolution.