Polling from pole to pole

Election Day voting seen across parliaments and time zones

Art+by+Victoria+Gorny

Art by Victoria Gorny

As election season fades from present worries, many secrets remain under the surface. Election season in America was a time of advertisements and long-awaited battles on the debate floor. But have you ever wondered what happens around the world when November comes onto the calendar? The countries will be looking into are Canada, Italy, and China.

If you were watching international news last year, you would have seen that Canada had their election for Prime Minister, but how did they do it? The election season in Canada is only about 78 days for the national election. About 70% of Canada votes in each election unlike the 57% of Americans who head the poll each election season.

“They may have more national pride than some people in the US because of the crazy politics we have,” said freshman Meghan Bosshart.

There are two debates, but only one is in English—the other being in French. According to National Public Radio, they are usually held on back-to-back nights.

In Italy, they have a parliament which is comprised of the Chambers of Deputies and the Senatori, or Senate, of the Republic. According to the Elections Resources website, the President of the Republic of Italy is elected for a seven-year term by the two houses in a joint session.

“The U.S. does not want one person to have so much power for such a long time, hence the four year terms,” said social studies teacher Mr. Cory Jensen.

For the House races, there was a 75% voter turnout in Italy, which is higher than in the U.S. and Canada. The next election will be sometime in 2018, since the House has five-year terms.

In China, it is based on a hierarchical system where the local congress is directly elected, and the other rules are up to the national legislature and congress, which comes from the Constitution of People’s Republic of China.

Even though there are language barriers and political differences, the one thing that ties us together is the goal for a good government that protects us and our families.