What We can Learn from Voting in Other Countries

The United States’s voting system is by no means perfect. It has a pitifully low voter turnout rate among other developed nations, voting requirements are constantly changing, and registration is confusing. Examining how other countries conduct elections can be helpful in reforming the United State’s electoral system.

Making Voting More Accessible

One major complaint about voting in the U.S. is the lack of homogeneity. Each state makes its own rules. There is no national voter registration age, deadline, or process. Voting requirements also vary across states. For example, Minnesota has same-day voter registration and no picture ID laws while Tennessee requires voters to register a month ahead of time and present a picture ID at the polls. Registration and the voting process can be pretty confusing for an ordinary citizen. One solution is to allow people to register on election day. Canada has no voter registration deadline, meaning citizens are able to register when they arrive at the polls on Election Day. As of 2021, 20 states and Washington D.C. have already implemented same-day registration. Same-registration would ensure that thousands of Americans are not prevented from voting simply because they missed a deadline.

Another problem with voting is the date for Election Day. Election Day is November 2, 2021 which is always a Tuesday. This is the day for the general election of federal public officials, and can be considered one of the most important voting days in the U.S., especially when it is a presidential election year. It seems odd that such an important event is held on a Tuesday, a work day for most Americans. However, this day was originally chosen so that farmers could travel on horseback to the polling place. It made sense then, but in the 21st century it is a large inconvenience. Voting can take hours depending on the length of the voting lines and how many polling places are open in an area. Greece, Australia, and Brazil conduct elections on the weekends which is much more convenient for citizens.

Another solution is to automatically register people to vote. If governments want people to vote and be active in politics, then they shouldn’t place the burden on citizens. Automatic voter registration turns voter registration from an op-in process to an opt-out one. Eligible citizens who interact with government agencies are automatically registered to vote unless they decline. Government agencies also transfer voter registration information electronically to election officials which is far more efficient than using paper registration forms. Citizens in France are automatically registered to vote when they turn 18. There is no extra hassle or effort which allows states to save money and time from processing voter registration forms. Security is increased because voter registration depends on information from a government agency such as a driver's license or tax forms. The enrollment system in Sweden tracks every citizen’s name, address, birth, and marital status. Voter rolls are more accurate as well since there is a constant stream of updates between registration agencies and election officials. It is less likely for states to purge eligible voters from voter rolls because of inaccurate data that usually arises from processing paper registration forms by hand.

Making Voting Fairer

Multi-winner systems are not as common as single-winner systems, yet they are thought to be some of the most fair systems to elect candidates. Two main problems people have with plurality voting is the spoiler effect and gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the redrawing of district lines to favor a certain political party. The spoiler effect is when the winner of an election has received less than half the votes. A third party candidate can draw votes away from a major party candidate that has similar views to them. When this happens, the winner of the election can often be the candidate that the majority of voters liked least. Ranked choice voting helps eliminate these weaknesses and is extremely common in other parts of the world. New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia have ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting is favorable to neutral citizens. Voters who don’t like any of the major party candidates will often choose not to vote since they believe that it’s not worth it to throw away their vote. That may change with ranked choice voting since it ensures that candidates with the most votes and broades support win. It’s not like in plurality systems where a candidate that is least liked by voters can still win.

References

Ballotpedia (n.d.). Ranked-choice voting (RCV). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV)

Brennan Center for Justice (2021). Automatic voter registration, a summary. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/automatic-voter-registration-summary

Costantini, C. (2012). 3 countries where it’s easier to vote than the United States. Abc News.

https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/countries-easier-vote-united-states/story?id=17625616&singlePage=true

Samuelson, K. (2016). 7 ideas from other countries that could improve U.S. elections. Time.

https://time.com/4546243/elections-voting-ideas/