United States of America Elections
I'm British, but, as you know, live and work in Portugal. The electoral systems of these two countries I have some experience of are different, neither is perfect, but they are democratic. What both countries share, however, is a high rate of abstention from the democratic process by those entitled to vote.
Whatever you believe the important issues of the day are - be they climate change, national security, the economy, the quality of public services, taxation etc. - you can make your opinion count by voting in the upcoming election. If you do not register to vote or simply chose not to vote, you are denying yourself an opportunity to take part in the democratic process.
Democracy itself is undermined by those who for, whatever reason, do not vote. Can a presidential candidate, for example, who receives 51% of the popular vote when only 40% of the population entitled to a vote actually exercised that right, really claim to represent "the people"?
Some European countries, such as Holland and Belgium, address the issue of low voter turn out by making voting compulsory. In an ideal world, this would not be thought of as necessary, because all those entitled to vote would feel it their democratic duty to do so.
It is argued that many who do not vote are making a protest of some sort and they should have the right to do so. I have some sympathy with this view, but suspect that a more effective form of protest would be to vote for a minority party or "joke" candidate - for many years in Britain, the Monster Raving Looney candidate received protest votes in this way - or simply to spoil your ballot paper. These options must be a more active form of protest than simply not voting.
Your election system may be imperfect and the candidates on offer may not share all of your opinions or priorities, but you will never bring about change by not voting. The imminent election in the US will determine the path America follows for at least the next four years. What happens in the US has an enormous impact on the rest of the world. Give your new President a powerful mandate; ensure he is elected by as many Americans as possible. Go Vote!
Update: I am incredibly pleased to add that America has a new president in Barack Obama. Let's hope he puts his money where his mouth is!
