Elections

[flexibeast]

Today is mid-term elections day in the US.

In a couple of weeks, the Victorian state elections will be held.

i don't envy people in the US. When i vote here, i don't have to worry about the integrity of the electoral process itself. i may not like the results of elections, but i believe that those results were arrived at fairly.

The US electoral process is a different matter altogether. The Diebold-manufactured electronic voting machines used in many elections there are known to have serious security issues (as demonstrated by a quick Google for "Diebold election voting"). i've read so many disturbing stories about how easily the US electoral process can be - and perhaps has been - hijacked that i can't say that i would trust any results arrived at using that process. And that's without considering the massive amounts of money associated with it . . . .

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty", indeed.
 

Comments

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

This is why we need people to volunteer for election monitoring.

[porcineflight.livejournal.com]

Interesting... In the US the people involved in the election process are all partisan... In Australia you can be a scrutineer if belonging to a party, but you are not allowed anywhere near the votes. URGH!

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

Not so: I'm an election monitoring volunteer tomorrow, I'm not a member of any political party, and the monitoring is organised by Seventy, which is nonpartisan.

[porcineflight.livejournal.com]

OK I stand corrected.

[porcineflight.livejournal.com]

Yeah the US is scary... The so-called bastion of Democracy is riddled with structural and procedural flaws... A University Student Union/Guild election has better scrutiny than the US... Particualry problematic given the amount of power, influence and "infallibility" concentrated on the President's position.

Some of the ideals of freedom and democracy espoused by the US are wonderful and can be powerful instruments of social change. As foreigners perhaps we should raise awareness of the flaws in their system with whoever will listen and encourage USAans to demand better checks and balances.

If we have nothing more pressing to do ;)